An Unlikely Ally
by ChristinaFay
Summary: A story of revenge, redemption, and love. She was Sirius Black's ex-girlfriend, joining the Death Eaters with her own agenda; he was Dumbledore's spy, isolated within the Dark Lord's inner circle. What would happen when they discovered each others' secrets? And how would that change their plans, their lives, and everything else?
1. An Old Flame

_****__All__** characters belong to the brilliant JKR...**_

_****__**Except for the one, the only one, that belongs to me. She is not completely good, but is definitely not evil. She is troubled, complicated, powerful, yet vulnerable. Hmmm... does she remind you of someone else we all adore? All I am asking is, give her a chance. Don't write her off just because she is an OC. =)**_  


* * *

**An Unlikely Ally  
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_A Story of Revenge, Redemption, and Love_**  
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**Prologue**

It was early dawn; the room was still dark. The flames in the fireplace were slowly dying down. The remaining magic of the fire enveloped the room in a dim orange glow. All was quiet, except for the couple talking softly in bed.

"I have to admit," Gently the young Headmaster tugged a strand of the witch's raven hair behind her ear, "that was quite extraordinary."

The witch shot him a mischievous smile and closed her eyes.

"Tell me," he began again, "is there anything you are not good at?"

"I'm terrible with potions." She answered without missing a beat, "I should never touch potions for the safety of myself and everyone around me. I also think I should not be allowed to drink anything with qualities more than water."

He let out a quiet laugh, "I have already established that based on my own observations. Tell me something I don't already know."

"Hmmm," She thought for a moment, and looked back at him with her clear blue eyes, "I'm not very good at committments."

"Not very good?" He asked curiously.

"Not good at all. I usually run when I see one coming." She answered plainly.

He nodded quietly, and traced his long pale fingers along her cheek, to her long ivory neck, down to her porcelain shoulder.

"Tell me something that you are good at." She asked.

"There is quiet a long list!" He answered quickly, a smirk spread across his face. "But at the very top of the list has to be secrets." He stated plainly. "I'm good at keeping secrets."

The witch let out a small laugh, "You can keep whatever secrets you want, Severus. Just keep in mind that there are certain things you will never be able to hide from me. You are practically an open book to me as far as your emotional states."

He frowned and looked at her suspiciously, "Are you that certain?"

She arched an eyebrow at him and nodded confidently.

"Alright. Tell me, how would you describe the emotion that I am feeling right now." He challenged her.

She got up a little and rested her head on her hand. Looking at him straight in the eye, she frowned. A moment past she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Well?" He urged for her answer.

"What you are feeling right now absolutely terrifies me." She whispered.

.

.

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**Chapter One - An Old Flame**

**August 1979**

"Olivia Hamilton, will you marry me?" Sirius Black gracefully got down to his left knee, gazing upon the young witch in front of him affectionately. Slowly he produced a small velvet box from his coat pocket. As he opened the box, a beautiful sapphire ring came into sight.

The young woman stood before him froze. Her beautiful blue eyes widened with surprise. A sudden swirl of autumn wind ruffled her ebony hair. But she did not seem to notice. She was momentarily lost in thought as if she was in a different world. She opened her mouth but no words came. Then she pressed her lips tight together and frowned. Finally she asked, in a small quiet voice, "Sirius, what are you doing?"

An exaggerated frown spread across the young wizard's face. "Oh come on, Livvie. What do you think I'm doing? We've been together for over eight months! I love you and you love me. So I am proposing that we spend the rest of our lives together." Sirius ended his explanation with a charming smile that would probably melt any girl's heart if they saw him that day.

But his words didn't make the witch named Olivia Hamilton smile. "But Sirius, we are too young. I am too young. I'm only seventeen! How do you know we are right for each other?"

Sirius smiled warmly at the young witch and reached for her delicate hand, "Love, you know me well. I have dated many girls and I know you'd hate it if I started to count. I know for a fact that none of them is like you. You've changed my perspective about everything. You've made me a different man, a responsible man that I didn't know I was capable of becoming. You are the one for me, love. I love you with all my heart. Please, what more do you want me to say?"

Slowly the black-hair witch rubbed the back of Sirius' hand with her long fingers, "I need to go home and finish my last year of school first. I am leaving in a week! And you know I also have plans to continue my training back home after that."

"That's exactly why I am asking you now. I can't bear to see you go. Why can't you stay and be an exchange student for another year at Hogwarts. After that, they may offer you similar programs here just like what they have in North America. I will find a job and wait for you. We can have our wedding after you graduate." Sirius cheerfully laid out his plans. "Or, do you want me to send an owl to your father first? I didn't think you would be so traditional."

"No that's not it." Olivia took a deep breath and went on, "Why don't you come home with me? Britain is in the middle of a war right now. And I don't think this is where I want to be."

The wizard's playful expressions slowly disappeared, "But you do know we are fighting on the right side, don't you?"

She nodded.

"And you know Voldemort is wrong. And he has to be stopped. Don't you?"

She nodded again.

"And you do like my friends. James, Lily, Remus, Peter?"

She nodded for the the third time.

"I can't leave my friends here fighting alone. I can't leave them Olivia."

The young witch played with the edge of her coat silently. She kept her gaze locked on the fallen leaves on the ground. For the longest time she did not say a word, nor did she look back up at him. And finally she whispered, "It's your war, Sirius, not mine. I am too young to commit to anything this serious right now."

Sirius closed his eyes and dropped his head. Slowly he got back on his feet and closed the velvet box. Quietly he put the ring away, and said in a strained voice, "So I'll take it as a no."

"That's not what I meant!" The young witch replied quickly as she heard the pain in his voice. "It's just... not today, Sirius. I need a little more time. Ask me again in three years. I will be done with my training. The war will probably be over. And if we are meant for each other, a little extra time shouldn't be a problem, right? Please, will you do that for me?" She grabbed hold of his hand and asked hopefully.

Sirius sighed and pulled the young woman in his arms. "Anything love, I'd do anything for you."

* * *

**August 1997**

"Coming! Coming!"

Tonks was nervous and irritated both at the same time on this early Saturday morning.

She was still quite shaken by the recent fall of the Ministry. Not that she had ever had any high expectations from Scrimgeour when he was in charge. However, it was disheartening to see that with the assassination of Scrimgeour, the Ministry had officially fallen into Voldemort's control. Tonks and Remus had been trying everything to stay in contact with other Order members and reach out for new recruits. But they had made very slow progress. People were frightened and wary, and seemed to only venture out when they absolutely had to.

On this quiet morning, the Lupins were working on their garden together. If it was not because Tonks needed to get a drink of water back in the house, she wouldn't have been startled by the urgent knocking on the door.

"What's happening now..." Tonks murmured to herself as she hurried to open the door. As she ran through the hallway she tripped by the runner and almost fell flat on her face. She cursed silently and felt her anger rising. Whoever that was standing on the other side of the door had better have a good reason to be there.

As she swung open the front door, she was greeted by a tall pale witch dressed in a black suit and a black traveling cloak. The witch was in her late twenties, or maybe early thirties, Tonks could not tell. Her long black wavy hair fell gracefully down her shoulders, complementing her elegant face. But the beautiful appearance did not bring along any trace of warmth. The witch stared at Tonks coldly and frowned, "Who are you?" She asked in a stern voice.

Tonks' jaw dropped to the floor. What? This was the woman who made an intrusion to their privacy on this Saturday morning yet she dared asking the question?

"I'm Tonks, or Mrs. Lupin if you will. Now who the heck are you?" Tonks decided that rudeness was the perfect reply for rude behaviors.

The witch raised an eyebrow and ignored Tonks' question completely. "Tonks? That's a funny name. Are you related to Andromeda and Ted Tonks?"

"They are my parents." Tonks frowned and replied. What did this woman know about her family?

"I see," a quick smile appeared briefly on the witch's face, "I know your parents. They are nice people. Looks like you are all grown up."

"Well thank you." Tonks was getting a bit impatient, "But that still doesn't answer my question. Who are you?"

The witch looked at Tonks for another long moment, as if thinking hard, and she said, "Did you just say you were Mrs. Lupin? As in Mrs. Remus Lupin?"

"That's damn right!" Tonks replied. For some reason she could not bring herself to like the early visitor. How could she not know that Remus was married if she was here looking for him? In the back of her mind Tonks began to worry, could this be an old flame of Remus' that he never told her about?

"Now tell me who you are before I slam the door in your face!" Tonks raised her voice.

The witch simply stared at Tonks in amusement. Just as Tonks was about to shut the door, she saw Remus hurried through the hall way. He must have been getting worried for not seeing her back out in the garden.

Tonks was shocked to see all colors drained from her husband's face as he took a good look at the witch at the door. He stared wide-eyed at the woman and when he finally found his voice he murmured, "Merlin's beard! Could this really be Olivia Hamilton?"

The black-hair witch walked straight passed Tonks as if she was nonexistent. "Nice to see you too, Remus," She said quietly as she walked passed Remus and made her way into the living-room.

"Hey!" Tonks began to protest, "Who are you? Is anyone here going to tell me what's going on?"

Remus walked to his wife's side and quietly closed the door. He hugged her gently and whispered to her, "She's alright, sweetheart. Don't worry. She's Sirius' ex-girlfriend. I haven't seen or heard from her for years. Can you make us some tea?"

Tonks mouth opened into an O and she looked at Remus in disbelief. Quietly she made her way to the kitchen and set the tea kettle on the stove.

By the time Remus made his way into the living-room, the witch in black was already sitting in the sofa by the window. She was examining her nails as she waited for him. Remus took the seat across from her and asked, "How did you find us?"

"You are not very hard to find, Mr. Werewolf," The witch in black said matter-of-factly, "as long as your Ministry still has that law in place, your whereabouts are always public knowledge, unfortunately."

Remus chuckled lightly. He knew she meant him no harm. They used to spent hours hanging out as a group after school when the Marauders were in their last year at Hogwarts and Olivia Hamilton was there for an exchange program.

"So, how have you been?" He asked gently.

Olivia looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, "could have been a bit better if I was a little more informed."

Remus frowned and looked at the unexpected guest searchingly.

"Well, tell me how you'd feel if you were me." She began, "One day I was told he was fighting on the right side for a noble cause. The word next day was that he betrayed his two best friends and murdered another. And then it was silence, complete silence for over a decade. Then all of a sudden a package showed up at my door, with his best wishes stated in his will, along with a piece of paper telling me he was locked away by mistake for ten years and was killed soon after leaving Azkaban. Why didn't anyone tell me anything all these years!"

Remus took a deep breath and sighed, "it's a long story."

"And I have plenty of time." The witch hissed.

Remus looked back at Olivia curiously, "But I thought you turned him down. You told him no, didn't you?"

"That's not what I said." the witch said bitterly, "I needed more time. I asked him to wait for me."

"So he did." Remus said quietly, "I'm sorry Olivia. But all I can tell you is... he didn't date again after... after you left. He was waiting for you."

"No he wasn't." The witch inhaled sharply and continued, "I know him. He had given up on us."

Remus wasn't sure what he could say about the seemingly confusing relationship between the witch in front of him and his diseased best friend. He considered her inquiries earlier and decided to fill her in with the details.

"We really didn't know it was Peter that betrayed Jame and Lily for all those year. I thought it was Sirius myself!"

"And besides," Tonks entered the room with a tray with the tea set, "no one could have been able to get him out of Azkaban anyway."

"I would have gotten him out of there if I knew he was innocent." The witch in black said plainly.

Tonks' eyes widened and she shot a quick glance at her husband, "But no one could have done that. It is Azkaband for Merlin's sake. Right Remus?"

Remus sighed and shook his head, "Olivia might have been able to find a way."

Tonks looked back at the witch surprisingly, she wonder why Remus would make such an assessment. However by the look at the woman's face, she decided not to ask.

"So tell me," Olivia asked quietly, "Who did it? Who killed him?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange." Remus answered quietly, "one of the Death Eaters following you-know-who."

"Death Eaters... They are back again?" Olivia frowned, "is she close to him? Vol..."

Remus raised his hand and stopped Olivia from saying the Dark Lord's name. "There is a jinx put on his name. Do not say it. And yes, she is very close to him."

The three sat in silence and drank their tea, until Olivia looked up and asked, "who do you have inside?"

Remus and Tonks asked in unity, "inside where?"

"The Dark Lord's inner circle, of course." Olivia rolled her eyes and said, "you are in the middle of a war, again, right? Don't you have spies?"

"We used to have one." Remus said bitterly.

"Who?"

"Severus Snape."

"I remember him..." Olivia searched her memories briefly, "What happened to him? Did that Bellatrix Lestrange kill him too?"

"No," Remus answered darkly, "But sometimes I wish that was the case. But no. We just recently discovered that he was not our spy after all. He was the one who killed Dumbledore."

Olivia did not say another word. A few moments past she got up from the sofa. "Thanks for the information, Remus. Tonks, nice to meet you."

"Wait! You can't just leave like this." Remus stood up quickly after the witch, "Where are you going? What are you going to do?"

"That is none of your concern." the witch answered quietly.

"You can't fight him alone Olivia. Let us help you." Remus pleaded.

"Who said I was going to fight him?" the dark-hair witch raised her eyebrows at the wizard, "I only want to find HER. And besides, what can you do to help me? The two of you? The Order? I heard the words in the street. You are counting on a teenage boy to save your world." She shook her head disapprovingly, "There is nothing you can do to help me, Remus."

"At least tell me your plan. You never know when you may need a hand." Remus insisted.

"That's very kind of you," Olivia smiled briefly, "I will keep that in mind. But I can't tell you what my plan is, because I don't have one yet. All I know is that a goal is all you need to get started."

Quickly she walked around the coffee table and began to make her way towards the door.

"So you won't fight the Dark Lord at all?" Tonks called after her.

"Well," the witch stopped in the hallway briefly and looked back at the couple, "if I can get rid of him, just consider that my dumb luck and your benefit."

She flashed them a quick smile and before they could catch up with her, she was gone.

"I don't like this," Remus sighed, "Why do I have a bad feeling about what she's going to do..."

* * *

Severus Snape was surprised by the party music as he entered Malfoy Manor. He thought the Dark Lord had summoned them for another meeting, and did not expect a party taking place when he entered the hall.

"Severus," Lucius Malfoy quickly walked to the entrance way to welcome the newly appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts. "It's a special party... the Dark Lord will explain later. People are just getting their drinks. May I have a word please."

Snape nodded curtly and followed Malfoy into his study. Malfoy quietly closed the door and said in a low voice, "You have to help me Severus. Please keep an eye on Draco for me. I don't know what to do. My boy has lost all his respect for me. He is ashamed of me. And he will not listen to a word that I say. I'm really worried about him Severus. Could you please promise me, that you will keep an eye on him when he returns to school next week? I just want him to be safe."

Snape looked at Malfoy curiously, "what makes you think your son will listen to me, if he doesn't even listen to you?"

"The Dark Lord adores you. And Draco adores the Dark Lord. He will listen to you Severus. I know he will."

"If that's what you think," Snape replied, "I will try."

"I really appreciate it Severus." Malfoy clasped his hand over Snape's shoulder as he opened the door leading to the hall way, "Go, join the others, have a good time! I'm going to look for Narcissa. She went to the kitchen a while ago."

As Snape made his way towards the great hall, he suddenly heard a woman pleading in a whispering voice from a room in the opposite end of the hall. He took a few quick steps towards the room, and within seconds he recognized the voice, it was Narcissa Malfoy.

"Please... I'm scared. What do you want me to say? He will find out about this! He will kill me, he will kill all of us! Don't make me do this..."

"Hush, Narcissa" another woman's voice stopped Narcissa's trembling one. The second woman sounded slightly irritated but her voice was calm. Snape could not recognize the voice, but he decided to listen.

"You will do what I told you to do." the woman said sternly, "I've put a charm on you, so no one would know what we had discussed. Do I have to keep reminding you of those good stories I can share with your darling husband? Do you honestly think he would appreciate it? By doing me this favor, you may just make my memory a bit blurrier. And I may just forget about the urge to share those old tales. Now come on Narcissa, let's get out of here. If I'm not mistaken, isn't this my welcome party?"

Snape quickly walked down the hall as he heard the women's footsteps walking towards the door.

As he finally join the group of Death Eaters mingling in the great hall, Snape carefully turned around to look for Narcissa. The hostess appeared to be quite nervous tonight. Her face was even paler than usual. As she walked through the crowd she kept apologizing to the guests that she was not well prepared for the gathering. Walking next to her, was a tall young witch with long wavy raven hair. She was wearing a short black dress with a revealing neckline. The dress hugged her body perfectly, emphasizing her perfect hourglass figure. As she made her way across the hall, Lucius' Death Eater friends watched her with great interest, while the ladies shot her envious glances.

The mysterious friend of Narcissa's did not seemed to be bothered by the hungry stares as she walked across the hall. Instead her interest seemed to be somewhere else. Snape watched as she scanned the room discreetly, searching for something unknown to others.

As she turned towards Snape, her cobalt blue eyes briefly locked upon his deep dark ones. Snape frowned, he had seen her before. But where? He could not remember.

Slowly he made his way towards the hostess and her friend. Snape was not usually interested in socializing. But tonight he was intrigued. Was she the woman that was threatening Narcissa? Why? Who was she?

When he came upon the two women he nodded, "Good evening Narcissa." Snape said smoothly, "May I have the pleasure of meeting your friend?"

Narcissa swallowed and answered quickly, "But of course Severus. Olivia, this is Severus Snape. Severus, this is Olivia, Olivia Macmillan, my cousin from America."

* * *

_**So here we have the premises. Does it sound interesting to you? Look forward to your reviews and comments. For me, that is the best indicator that I should continue this attempt.**_


	2. Snape's Nightmare

_****__**All characters belong to the brilliant JKR... Except for the one, the only one...**_  


_****__**Thank you JarODirt for your encouragement. The reassurance was much needed and appreciated. Also a big thank you to all who added the story to your Story Alert. I do have quite a grand plan for Severus, and our new girl of course. I hope you enjoy the story!  
**_

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**Chapter Two - Snape's Nightmare**

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Snape," the black-hair witch offered her delicate hand to Snape, "Or should I call you Professor? Or perhaps you prefer to be called Headmaster?"

Snape took her hand and courteously brushed his lips against her ivory fingers. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Macmillan." He said politely, intentionally ignoring her questions.

"I've heard about you," the witch went on, "I'm sure you will make a fine replacement for Dumbledore."

Snape wondered if it was his own imagination, but he thought there was a trace of bitterness when she said "fine replacement".

As he released her hand he looked up at the young witch. She looked straight back at him with her deep blue eyes. There was a small polite smile hanging at the corner of her lips. Yet Snape took note of the strange coldness in her gaze.

"That is very kind of you to say Miss Macmillan." Snape returned, "Why do I have the feeling that we have met before?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid you must be mistaken," the witch replied calmly, "This is my first trip to Britain. Thanks to the hospitality of my cousin, I can finally come visit this amazing place." Olivia gestured slightly towards Narcissa, who gave an uneasy smile.

"Ah there she is, our lovely guest of honor!" A cool high voice suddenly interrupted them.

As they turned towards the voice, both Narcissa and Snape inclined politely towards the Dark Lord.

"I'm glad to see that you are already making friends!" Voldemort smiled at the witch in the short black dress. "But if you may excuse me, Severus, I would like to borrow Miss Macmillan for a moment."

"Most certainly my Lord." Severus bowed again.

When he looked up, Snape saw Voldemort offering his arm to Miss Macmillan, who took it without hesitation. They walked towards the end of the hall and disappeared behind a door leading into the private meeting room.

"Haven't heard you mentioning your cousin before, Narcissa." Snape made the small comment.

"We haven't been seeing each other very often." Narcissa answered in a slightly trembling voice.

"What brought her here?" Snape asked casually as he picked up a glass of champagne from a tray carried by a passing-by house-elf.

Narcissa swallowed and paused for a moment, as if contemplating how best to answer the question. "She... She admires the Dark Lord and wants to become a part of us."

"I see," Snape answered quietly. A moment past he asked again, still in an innocent tone, "And you think she is trustworthy?"

"Yes, definitely yes!" Narcissa answered immediately. But she quickly looked away from Snape's dark eyes. "Excuse me, but I must go check on the kitchen. Dinner should be ready very soon now."

Snape nodded politely and watched the hostess scurried away. His attention went back to the door leading to the meeting room. He wondered if his instincts were right, that this Miss Macmillan was in fact after something else.

When the Dark Lord re-emerged from the study with the young witch, they were talking and laughing, like a couple of old friends knowing each other for years. The Dark Lord insisted that Miss Macmillan sitting next to him at the dinner table, and continued on with their pleasant conversation as if no one else was around.

It was until they concluded the dinner with chocolate mousse and sherry, Voldemort finally looked away from the witch and surveyed his followers at the table.

"Severus," He turned his attention to Snape, "How do you like your new position as the Headmaster?"

"It's been a great honor my Lord." Snape answered in his smooth voice, "I've been preparing for the new term."

Voldemort nodded, and looked at Snape curiously with his red eyes, "Have you made arrangements for the new teachers for Dark Arts and Muggle Studies?"

The table was quiet now as everyone realized the Dark Lord was addressing one of them. Snape shook his head thoughtfully. He had hoped that Voldemort would not remember the two vacancies, as the last thing he wanted was to have two death eaters getting into Hogwarts. He had planned on picking up the DADA class himself, even though that would mean doubling his workload as the headmaster and a teacher. It was also his plan to suspend the muggle studies class for the year. He had long ago determined that having a death eater teaching muggle studies would be a complete joke anyway.

"No my Lord," He answered obediently, "I haven't been able to find any qualified candidates."

"Alas, I am here to solve your problem, my faithful servant!" Voldemort's smile broadened. "Amycus Carrow is your man for the Dark Arts class."

Snape frowned inwardly at the Dark Lord's assignment, but he didn't say a word. Instead he nodded in agreement.

"As far as the muggle studies class," Voldemort went on, "Miss Macmillan is the perfect candidate."

Snape couldn't help but raising his eyebrows at the Dark Lord's suggestion. Fortunately he had no need to hide his surprise, as Olivia Macmillan gasped at the suggestion and immediately drew everyone's attention to her.

Snape watched as the surprise turned into disappointment in the witch's face, "You are sending me to look after some school children?" she asked in a low voice, "My Lord! Do you doubt my ability?"

"On the contrary Miss Macmillan," Voldemort laughed, "I am quite impressed by you! I think this will be the best way to ease you into our rituals. And as Severus can attest to this," he gestured at the newly appointed Headmaster, "dealing with the children can be quite a challenge these days."

The witch did not say another word but nodded in silence. She however made her displeasure perfectly clear when she looked up at Snape, sending him a chilling stare.

After dinner, the Dark Lord stopped by Snape's side and quietly said, "A word please, Severus."

Voldemort took Snape into the private meeting room where he had the meeting with the witch before dinner.

"Severus," he began darkly, "There is something about Miss Macmillan that concerns me."

"What may that be my Lord?"

"She is a very skilled witch and sorcerer, a lot more than what she let on. But I am not at all convinced by her eager desire to follow me."

Snape stood quietly in front of the Dark Lord, recalling his own observations. Voldemort's suspicion confirmed his earlier assessment. It seemed odd to him that Voldemort didn't already penetrate the witch's mind and search all her secrets inside out. Did she really process a power that even the Dark Lord could not control? And what exactly would this mean? Was she someone sent by the Order? Or was she there for a different purpose? Should he become her ally? Or watch for her as a different enemy?

"What would you like me to do, my Lord?" Snape asked quietly, hoping Voldemort would share with him more information about the witch.

"I need you to watch her for me for a while," the Dark Lord answered thoughtfully, "she will either be a great asset or a huge trouble. And your job is to find out which one she is."

"Certainly my Lord." Snape bowed.

Right before Snape left the room, he heard Voldemort murmuring to himself, "I wonder what Bellatrix would say when she returns and discovers that she has such a huge fan from America..."

As Snape returned to the great hall, he noticed Carrow trying eagerly to strike up a conversation with Miss Macmillan.

"This is truly a wonderful arrangement, Olivia," Carrow purred, "I look forward to spending lots of time with you at Hogwarts. We will get to know each other really well in no time." He winked at the witch as he said the words "really well".

"I wouldn't count on it." Olivia answered coolly before turning to walk away, leaving Carrow standing in the middle of the hall all by himself.

Snape froze... _"I_ _wouldn't count on it." _That phrase, with that American accent, it sounded too familiar. Snape was definitely sure he had met this witch before, at a time when she said the same words, in the same dismissive manner. But where... The question consumed Snape for the rest of the night.

* * *

When Severus returned to Hogwarts it was past mid-night. The silence in the castle seemed almost unbearable, even for a man who was so used to solitude. As he walked down the corridor the only sound he could hear were the echoes of his clinking boots. All of the other professors had extended their summer holiday until the last day before the term was scheduled to start.

_They considered the students their only reason to return, not the headmaster._ Severus thought bitterly as he walked into his new office. There was one theory that he could not wait until the morning to verify.

"Good evening Severus!" Dumbledore in the portrait greeted him cheerfully as he turned on the oil lamp by the desk. "How was Tom tonight?"

"Just groovy." Severus sneered under his breath, "A new recruit was introduced to the group, a witch named Olivia Macmillan. I could have sworn I've met her before. Dumbledore, do you recall having a student here with that name?"

The old headmaster stroked his long white beard thoughtfully. A moment later he shook his head, "No, as far as I can remember, we have never had a student here with that name."

Severus paced in front of his desk, trying hard to remember all the students he had taught, and students he had met when he was at Hogwarts as a student, but nothing came up.

Suddenly a new student's information file on his desk reminded him. He quickly walked over to a bookshelf, and pulled out a very thick leather bound record book. Gently he laid the book on the desk, pulled out his wand from his coat pocket, and gave the cover a quick tap.

"Olivia Macmillan." He ordered. But nothing happened. Did he not remember the command correctly?

"Severus Snape." He ordered again. The book quickly open itself and the pages turned feverishly in front of him. When the pages finally settled down, he saw a dark-hair boy standing in a picture, looking at himself uneasily. That was him, still a boy, years ago at Hogwarts.

"It does work." He murmured in disbelief, "So I was mistaken? She was never a student here?"

Severus never doubted his own memory. Not finding what he was looking for was beginning to bother him terribly.

Out of boredom, he tap on the book once more, "Lily Evans."

The pages turned in front of his eyes. When they finally stopped, he was face to face with the red-hair girl with bright green eyes. She was smiling sweetly and waving cheerfully at him.

"Lily," his voice broke. His long pale fingers reached down to the picture, gently tracing the girl's face. Unknowingly, a tear drop escaped, falling quietly next to the girl with the sweetest smile, but was quickly absorbed by the aged parchment.

* * *

Hours later that night, Severus found himself a Hogwarts student again. Lily was walking in front of him. He was trying to catch up. But she kept walking faster and faster. The distance between them quickly grew.

"Lily!" He called out desperately. But she didn't seem to care. Suddenly Severus was blocked by James Potter and Sirius Black.

"In a hurry Snivellus?" Sirius Black smiled slyly. "No need to rush Snivellus, the highway to hell is wide open for you." Jame said. The two boys and some invisible people around him began to laugh.

Out of no where, a girl in Gryffindor uniform stepped in front of Severus, facing the two boys. Severus couldn't see her face, but only her long wavy black hair.

"I wouldn't count on it." She said dismissively. The two boys and all the other taunting voices immediately disappeared, as if she spoke the vanishing spell.

Slowly, she turned to face Severus. Before he could make out her face however, a bright light coming out of her almost blinded him. The last thing he could see before having to block out the bright light, was a pair of beautiful cobalt blue eyes.

"Olivia! Olivia!" Voices calling from every corner of the castle...

Severus jerked awake, only to find the morning sun piercing through his chamber window, shining brightly into his eyes.

"Bloody hell... what a strange dream." He sighed shakily, running his hand absentmindedly through his ruffled dark hair.

* * *

_**What do you think? I am desperate to know...  
**_


	3. Professor Macmillan

_****__**All characters belong to the brilliant JKR... Except for the one.**_

_****__**Thanks JarODirt and Eclaire Stones for your feedback. Your reviews always motivate me. I can't always promise the frequent updates. All I know is that sleep is overrated when there is an exciting story waiting to be told! =) **_

* * *

**Chapter Three - Professor Macmillan**

It was the Friday before the new term; Severus Snape was sitting by the window in his office, gazing down upon the quiet castle grounds. He could see a thin line of white steam slowly swirling above Hagrid's cabin in the distance. The path from the gate leading to the castle seemed completely deserted, covered by a small layer of golden leaves. A few owls flying over the clearing towards the Owlery was the only sign indicating that students will soon be returning to school after the weekend.

Snape laced his fingers together on his lap and leaned back into his chair, with his eyes never leaving the grounds. He wanted to remember how colorful everything was, before the dementors invading the sky next Monday, and turning everything into a shade of grey. Quietly he contemplated his plans as the headmaster. What an irony! Being the Headmaster of Hogwarts... such an honor, such a privilege! But the circumstances tainted the glory. Snape was not proud. He felt ashamed.

He wondered where Potter was and what the boy had to do. He wondered if the Order was still intact. He knew they would never see him the same again, after he ended Dumbledore's life. But he still hoped that he could soon find a way to warn or communicate with them should he discover Voldemort's next move. He took a quick look at Dumbledore's portrait, and felt a small relief that he still had the old Headmaster's counsel. And then his thoughts came back to Hogwarts.

Having Carrow and Macmillan joining the faculty complicated the situation tremendously. In addition to putting on the merciless Death Eater facade when meeting with Voldemort, Snape would also need to watch his every step at Hogwarts as well. If the Dark Lord ordered him to keep an eye on the witch, he wouldn't be surprised that he himself was the target of constant surveillance by those two.

He had known Carrow, and was well aware of his ruthlessness. But at least Snape knew the limitation of Carrow's intelligence. For the first time he felt slightly grateful for Voldemort's appointment. At least he would be able to keep Carrow at bay using his wits.

Macmillan however would be a different kind of challenge. Snape had no bearing on her abilities, other than the Dark Lord's apparent warning. He needed to know her true color. He must assess which side she was playing for as soon as possible. If she was truly the material for being a Death Eater, Snape had decided that he would have to fabricate some convincing evidence so that he could turn Voldemort against her before she could even suspect it. He could not afford having another powerful sorcerer joining Voldemort's rank. He would have to stop it before it could start.

But on the other hand, what if she was not who she said she was? Could she be his ally? Could he count on her to deliver messages about Voldemort's plans to the Order? How would he determine if he could trust her?

Snape's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a large grey owl pecking on the window. He let out a sigh and walked away from his desk. He opened the window, and untied a small note from the owl's leg.

It was a note from Carrow, the Death Eater who was never known for his manners or etiquette.

"Have our quarters ready." the note read rudely, "I will escort Miss Macmillan to Hogwarts Saturday afternoon."

"Fantastic." Snape sneered, "Just what I needed."

He crumbled the note into a ball and threw it into the fireplace with a swift throw. As he made his way back to his desk, the gargoyles outside his office announced, "Headmaster, Professor Macmillan is here to see you."

Snape's brows furrowed. He shot a quick glance at the small ball of parchment that was now a small ball of fire in the fireplace. Didn't Carrow say he was going to escort her there tomorrow? His frown deepened as he looked out the window. The path leading to the castle looked exactly the same as a few minutes ago. The layer of golden leaves still seemed untouched.

Quickly he ordered the gargoyles to let the guest in. A moment later, the witch he met a few nights ago walked through his office door. She was dressed in a conservative black suit and a dark purple traveling cloak. In her hand she was carrying a small suitcase, matching the color of her cloak.

"Miss Macmillan," Snape greeted her politely, but couldn't hide the surprise in his voice, "I was expecting you to arrive tomorrow. Isn't Carrow going to escort you?"

"It's _Professor_ Macmillan, Headmaster." the witch set her suitcase down on the floor and took the seat opposite Snape's desk. She looked at Snape straight in the eye as she crossed her legs casually, "And what makes you think I need escorting?"

Snape narrowed his eyes upon the witch. She seemed different from the other night. There was no curiosity in her eyes. And she no longer seemed like a foreign visitor. She seemed confident and defiant as she sat before him.

Slowly Snape walked behind his desk and took his own seat. When he looked back up at the witch he said, "I imagined that you could use some assistance, based on the fact that you have never been to Hogwarts before."

The witch arched an eyebrow, and let a small smile escape the corner of her lips. "This may come to you as a surprise, Professor, but Hogwarts is not that big of a secret. There are plenty of books about this place. And I can assure you," she said calmly, "I know enough of this place just from reading Hogwarts: A History."

Snape nodded silently, but was not at all convinced. He firmly believed she was lying. She must have been there before. She knew this place, probably very well.

"So," he began casually, "Have you assigned any specific books for your class?"

"No." She answered plainly, ignoring the surprised look in his face. "They won't need any books. I will have plenty of real life demonstrations to show the kids how things work in the muggle world."

"Real life demonstrations?" Snape frowned; he leaned towards the witch and rested his elbows on his desk, inquiring with great interest, "What kind of demonstration? And how do you teach without books?"

The witch leaned forward as well, and gave him a wicked smile. "The Dark Lord has faith in my abilities. Therefore I would suggest that you do the same, _Headmaster_. I have my own ways to teach my students. And that is all you need to know."

"Just why exactly are you so eager to become a member of the Dark Lord's league?" Snape stared at the witch coldly. She might not give him her true motives. But he had to start somewhere.

The witch let out a small laugh and relaxed back in her seat. "Probably exactly the same reason why you've stayed so loyal to him all these years."

Snape laughed bitterly. How little did she know... "I highly doubt that." He said coldly.

She gave another dismissive laugh and looked back at him. Suddenly, something caught her eyes and the smile froze in her face. She blinked and swallowed, and the smile disappeared completely.

Snape watched in amazement as the witch frowned at him, looking at him curiously, as if she just found something strange that she have never seen in him before.

A moment later she got up from her chair. "Well," she said, "aren't you going to show your new faculty member her living quarters? I can only assume it is ready."

Snape was perplexed by her sudden change of topic. But he decided that he would play along for the moment. He nodded curtly and walked up to the office door. "Of course, Professor Macmillan." He said plainly as he gestured towards the corridor, "After you."

* * *

As everyone waited for the new Headmaster to give his opening remarks before the feast, the exciting chatters among the students seemed to only exist among the young Slytherins. The rest of the students seemed to have lost their cheerful voices, and were only whispering to each other as they shot uneasy glances towards the new Headmaster.

Snape looked around himself irritably. All the teachers had taken their seats, except for the two new professors.

"What kind of grand entrance should we expect from your Death Eater friends today?" McGonagall hissed bitterly at the new Headmaster. The head of the Gryffindor house had purposely left the seat between herself and Snape vacant, just like the other teachers, who had all chosen their seats away from the newly appointed Headmaster. With the two seats next to him glaringly empty, Snape felt ridiculous. If he wanted to assert any authority over the school, he had better wait for Carrow and Macmillan to join him, as his supporting faculty in appearance.

A few young Gryffindor's laughter got Snape's attention. As he followed the student's pointing fingers, he saw Amycus Carrow stumbling through the side door leading to the great hall, completely soaked in water. The Death Eater cursed loudly as he took the seat next to Snape. "You've got to get rid of that poltergeist. He dropped a water bomb on me in the hallway! You wait; I'm going to kill him next time when I see him!"

"That killing part may be a bit of a challenge Amycus," Snape said coolly, "considering that he is merely a spirit." He had to press his lips tight into a thin line to prevent a smirk from escaping. The Death Eater sitting next to him cursed loudly again upon hearing his words.

"Was Macmillan with you?" Snape asked in a low voice.

"No." Carrow answered bluntly. "She's been ignoring me. I'll have to take care of that too of course. But I'm sure Peeves wouldn't let her off the hook either. She's probably crying in the loo over her wet hair right about..."

Before he could complete the sentence however, the Death Eater's jaw dropped as his eyes stared straight towards the side door connecting the corridor and the great hall. Following Carrow's glance, Snape saw Professor Macmillan gracefully entering the room. She was in a professional navy blue suit, with her hair neatly put up into a tight bun. He noticed the young witch giving McGonagall a small smile as she walked along the table. Instead of returning the friendly gesture however, the older witch responded with a stare of disgust. The young witch maintained her composure as if she did not notice. She took the only seat left at the table and sat down next to Snape.

"Hey Olivia," Carrow asked across the table, completely ignoring the students who were staring at them in the great hall. "Did Peeves give you a hard time?"

"Peeves? Why would he do that?" the witch arched an eyebrow casually. As she gave the Death Eater a curious glace she said, "Did you forget to change before swimming in the lake Amycus?"

A few snickering exploded from the students but was quickly silenced as Snape sent the crowd a chilling glance.

"She slept with him, Snape. I'm telling you!" Carrow hissed under his breath.

"What are you talking about?" Snape asked, clearly annoyed.

"That witch slept with the poltergeist. That's the only explanation why he is nice to her." the Death Eater breathed through his teeth.

Snape let out a heavy sigh. He had a fool to sit next to at the dinner table, probably for the rest of the term. This was going to be a very long year.

* * *

Hagrid had never had such frequent company of students in his entire career as the gamekeeper. It finally became apparent to him that assigning the students to assist him with his chores had become the new Headmaster's favorite choice of punishment for the young trouble makers. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher seemed to be the only one disagreeing with the Headmaster's choice. But Hagrid could not have cared less. He considered it the power struggle within the Death Eaters. Snape was on his own, as far as Hagrid's concerns. He only shook his head every time when he passed in front of the young headmaster, still could not apprehend how he could betray Dumbledore.

Snape did not receive any acknowledgement from the teachers on his leniency towards the students. His fellow professors were discreet enough not to show their displeasure towards their newly appointed boss, but they certainly did not let him forget how they felt about what he did. No one came to visit him in his office unless if it was his specific request. No one bothered to initiate any small talk with him when they met him in the great hall or the corridors. And worst of all, they would stop talking all together when they noticed the Headmaster's presence. The students picked up after their professors fast, and were a lot less shy in sending their new Headmaster ugly looks.

Surprisingly, Snape did not get the solitude that he was hoping for, even with such isolation. He constantly had the feeling that he was being watched. It could not have been Carrow. Snape had concluded that soon after the beginning of term. The dimwitted Death Eater was more interested in searching for excuses to practice the cruciatus curse on unfortunate underage wizards and witches. Even with Snape's request, Carrow would sometimes take up to an hour to surface from whichever corner of the castle where he was lurking for his prey.

That would make the mysterious witch Olivia Macmillan Snape's only suspect. He was well aware of the possibility that she was keeping an eye on him, just as he was constantly watching her.

From the other professors, the new Muggle Studies teacher seemed to deserve the same isolation treatment just like Snape. The students however were regarding her much differently. From overhearing various discussions among the youngsters, Snape took note of the two opinions about the new teacher. Some, mostly the young Slytherins, complained that her classes were as boring as hell. Apparently all they did in class was to observe whatever muggle objects that Professor Macmillan would present in front of them and write about them.

"She doesn't say much to begin with. How am I supposed to write anything about nothing?" Snape overheard a Slyterin student complaining with great frustration one day in the library.

But from the other students, Snape seemed to get a glimpse of the other side of Professor Macmillan.

"Are you sure she was saying that this muggle technology is obsolete?" A couple of young Ravenclaws were in such heated debate, they didn't even notice the headmaster listening quietly just from a few feet away.

"That's how it sounded to me." The other one countered.

"I don't think so. I think she was being sarcastic, and was implying that the invention had changed human history in a good way."

"Maybe she was trying to confuse us."

"Or make us see beyond the surface?"

"Obviously you are thinking too much." Snape walked by the students, startling them with his signature smooth cool voice, and promptly ended the discussion.

As far as Snape could tell, Olivia Macmillan never left her private quarters, her office, or her classroom, other than joining everyone in the evening in the great hall for dinner. Snape found it difficult to believe that the witch would be so content with being such a hermit. Secretly he suspected the witch had a way to disguise herself while following him around the castle. In order to "catch" her in action, he had tried to ambush her in her office or her classroom during random hours of the day, hoping to catch her rushing back to her post. However, to Snape's surprise, he had always found her "waiting" for him when he got into her office or her classroom.

But then everything seemed to make sense. She had to be watching him! Snape concluded. Otherwise how would she know where he would go looking for her?

Spying on the witch at Hogwarts seemed to be giving Snape the repeating nightmare even more frequently. In his dreams he was always back at Hogwarts as a student, and there was always a Gryffindor girl with long black hair, whose face he could not see, except for those cobalt blue eyes.

One early morning, after waking up again from another strange dream, Snape decided to take a brisk walk in the grounds. As he purposelessly wandered upon the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he suddenly had the feeling that he was being watched again.

He swiftly turned around to survey the surroundings, but found no one. It was still early and the castle grounds were very quiet. He stood still and listened hard. There was nothing. He took a few quick steps, stopped abruptly, and listened again. Still, nothing.

Finally he gave up, and began to make his way back towards the castle. Suddenly the sound of fluttering of wings startled him. As he looked up, a large brown falcon soared into the sky. It flew right into the vast greyness cast by dementors hovering above the school. With a shrill whistle, the bird sent a ray of bright light stright up towards the dementors. The light tore through the darkness like a sharp knife. Gracefully, the falcon sailed passed the greyness and disappeared into the bright blue sky.

"Strange." Snape murmured to himself. "What kind of bird is capable of such magic?"

* * *

Olivia Hamilton considered it her bad luck when she discovered that Bellatrix Lestrange was sent out to a special mission. It took her quite some efforts to gather blackmailing materials before approaching Narcissa. She wondered if she would have had better luck if she had a better way to get into the Dark Lord's league. She was further annoyed when Voldemort sent her to Hogwarts to work under Severus Snape. She did not come here to teach. She came here with only one purpose, to revenge.

When she was at the "welcome party" that Narcissa put together for her she had a suicidal moment. She considered killing as many Death Eaters in the room as possible, and even challenge the Dark Lord himself for a try. But then again, if she did that she was not likely to be able to make it out alive. Losing her life without killing Bellatrix Lestrange first? What's the point?

She had no choice but to wait. Waiting for a few more days would not kill her. She had plenty of time, especially now that she couldn't seem to find any other purpose in life than revenge. So she played along, and promptly became Professor Macmillan.

She had expected going back to Hogwards to be an extremely boring experience. However, meeting with the young Headmaster on that very first day when she arrived at Hogwarts changed her perspective unexpectedly.

She had gotten used to relying on her telepathic ability since she concluded her training years ago. That day, when he retorted with a cold comment, her senses picked up something strange about the wizard.

He was hiding something, something that was hidden very deep. He did not agree with her when she said that he had been loyal to the Dark Lord. He felt guilty, ashamed, and angry. She could sense it all. And that confused her. Those were not the emotions she expected from a Death eater. She was intrigued.

She did not get to know Severus Snape when she was an exchange student at Hogwarts. She only knew him from watching Sirius and James taking great pleasure in teasing the poor Slytherin. Why did the boys do that? The reasons were never clear to her. She remembered telling Sirius how she disliked bullies. And that seemed to put those pathetic pranks to an end. Was Snape always a bad guy? She wasn't' sure. Why did Lily kept telling her "Sev is too often misunderstood"? Could Lily be wrong? Could killing Dumbledore be a misunderstanding? Who exactly was Severus Snape?

She had plenty of time, so she might as well put it to good use. Olivia Hamilton found herself another hobby: spying on the young Headmaster. It amused her to see that he could not remember her from the good old days from school. And she found it tremendously entertaining while she kept an eye on him from a distance and watched him behave with the greatest paranoia.

She was certain he was hiding something from everyone, possible even the Dark Lord. But what exactly was it? She wished there was a way for her to find out soon.

* * *

**_Just curious... how do you like Olivia's character so far? _**


	4. The Confrontation

_**All characters belong to the brilliant JKR... Except for the one. **_

**_Thank you Eclaire Stones, chocolateKATE, _**_**JarODirt, **_**_and esmeralda023 for your reviews. It is an intimidating task to create a likable original character that can be both realistic, interesting and complementary to Severus. I appreciate your encouragement, especially your feedback on Olivia's character. I want to let you know that your comments are very important in helping me shape the story and the characters... And I assure you, that I take every word of yours very seriously. _**

* * *

**Chapter Four - The Confrontation**

Hogwarts was not the same place any more. The sun could no longer shine through the dark clouds as the dementors patrolled the sky. The cold and grey from the outside seemed to have seeped through the castle wall and left a gloomier atmosphere inside. The students' innocent laughter and happy chattering could no longer be heard. The once bustling hallway connecting the classrooms all seemed deserted, as students rushed quietly to their next destinations. The quiet corridors now became the playground for bullies, who were typically the children of Death Eaters. They were sneaky about using dark magic that they learned from Carrow's class on other students. This seemed to please the Dark Arts teacher tremendously, as he encouraged them through granting frequent extra points for their "practicing outside of class".

The young Headmaster made the observations solemnly. And silently, he cursed himself for his own incompetence: he just couldn't see a way to make anything better.

This was just one of those days, quietly Snape made his rounds in the corridors, hoping his presence would at least discourage some outrageous behaviors.

As he was about to round the corner, he heard the voices of a few students, one of them Gregory Goyle, taunting someone who was not talking, but only sobbing quietly. He cringed at the thought that he would have to deal with another conflict involving a Dealth Eater's son. These situations had always been tricky. His hands were tied while dealing these potential eyes and ears of the Dark Lord.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling out sternly, "What is going on here?"

It was Macmillan. Her voice was calm but cold. Snape held his breath and quickly walked behind a suit of armor. He was curious to see how she would handle such a situation. Carefully Snape peeked around the corner and watched in silence.

From his hiding spot he could not see Macmillan's face. She had her back facing his direction. However, he could get a good view of the students. Three Slytherin boys seemed to have a young Gryffindor girl cornered. Although Snape couldn't see the Gryffindor's face, based on the girl's height he could guess that the student was probably just a first-year.

"Oh nothing really Professor Macmillan," Goyle answered sweetly, "We didn't do anything wrong. Frances Jordan was trying to pick a fight with us but she was too slow. We hit her with a jinx but it was for self-defense."

"Don't even bother," Professor Macmillan answered coldly, "I can always recognize a lie when I see it."

Snape saw Goyle's eyes widened as the witch shot him a look that apparently was quite intimidating even for the well-built teenage boy.

"Get out of my sight before I change my mind, Mr. Goyle." Professor Macmillan hissed.

The three Slytherins quickly ran down the hallway and disappeared. Snape watched in amazement as the witch got down to her knees so that she was at the eye level with the young Gryffindor.

"Why are you so worried about your father?" She asked gently.

Snape frowned. That was an interesting observation. He didn't think he could have picked that up from looking at a weeping girl.

Apparently Snape was not the only one that was surprised. The young girl blinked away her tears and stared back at her professor. "H...how.. do...do you know?" She stuttered.

"I have my ways." the witch simply said. "So what happened?"

"I didn't try to pick a fight," the girl wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and began, "they jinxed me on my way to class, and said that they knew where my dad was. They said if I tell on them they will make sure my dad get the cruciatus curse."

"Why would they know anything about your father?" The witch asked, her voice calm and gentle. The coldness was no longer detectable.

"I think my dad was caught by the Death Eaters or something. I don't know." The girl began to cry again, "I haven't heard from my dad for a few weeks."

"So you don't know that for sure. Why do you have to believe what they say? Did you try sending an owl home? To your mother?" The witch asked again.

"My mum's not around." The girl answered quietly, "She left dad and me when I was little. She's a muggle and she said all the wizards and witches stuff freaked her out. I don't think she likes me very much."

Snape noticed the older witch's shoulders suddenly stiffened, as if she was burned by the words unexpectedly.

Noticing her professor no longer talking, the girl went on, "I wanted to hex them, but I was really afraid. I worry that if what they said was true and if I did anything they would hurt my dad." The girl sniffled, "Then they called me a coward. And said that I shouldn't be a Gryffindor to begin with."

The witch pulled out a white handkerchief and handed it to the girl. "Listen to me Frances. What you do right at this moment does not make you a coward. What is important is what you choose to do in the future, when you have the ability to make a choice for much bigger decisions. And remember this, bullies are always cowards."

The girl nodded quietly as she rubbed her eyes.

"What's your next class?" The witch asked again.

"Potions with Professor Slughorn."

"You'd better hurry up then," The witch got up and nudged the girl gently by her shoulders, "Potions can be quite complicated. I know it first hand how easy it is to miss one step and blow up the entire classroom."

The girl broke into a smile and nodded again. She picked up her book bag and began to leave.

"By the way," the witch called after her, "talk to Professor McGonagall and see if she can have someone check on your father. And also," the coolness suddenly returned to her tone, "do not mention this conversation to anyone. Otherwise you will lose your house a hundred points for being disrespectful for your teacher. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded again and quickly disappeared down the hallway. The witch looked around her surroundings with one quick glance, and made her way back towards her office.

Snape shook his head and sighed. If this was a spy that the Order had sent, they really didn't have a clue about what they were up against. She was not careful at all. This kind of rescuing and counseling would land her in trouble with the Dark Lord and his followers in no time. But just how would he bring this warning to her? Snape wasn't sure.

* * *

That night, Severus was a school boy in his Slytherin uniform again. As he wandered down the corridors, people around him pointed their fingers at him and whispered unfriendly words behind his back. He kept his head down and walked a bit faster. Suddenly he bumped into someone standing in his way. As he looked up, he saw the back of the same Gryffindor girl with raven hair.

In his mind Severus was screaming at himself, "This is the dream again! Look at her face. Try to see who she is!"

As the girl slowly turned around, she did not turn into a bright like as she always did in his previous dreams. Severus took a good look at her when she finally turned and stood face to face with him. She had long black hair falling gracefully down her shoulders, a friendly smile spreading across her elegant face. She looked at Severus curiously with her bright blue eyes, "Hi, what's your name?" She asked cheerfully, "I'm new here. My name is Olivia Hamilton."

That was more information than what Severus was hoping for. He could not recall how the dream ended. But as soon as he woke up, he hurried to his office and pulled out the old record book. He watched eagerly as the pages turning furiously in front of him. As the pages finally settle down, he saw a picture of a teenage girl with cobalt blue eyes, smiling brightly at him.

Next to the picture, were words written in golden letters: "Olivia Hamilton, birthday: March 3, 1962, Muggle-born. Exchange Student at Hogwarts: 1978-1979. Temporary placement: Gryffindor House."

Severus quickly closed the book. Quietly he paced around his office. How could he not remember her! She used to hang out with Lily quite often. Now that he thought of it, he remembered that she was actually one of the few Gryffindors that were friendly with him, although they never exchanged more than a few words. Wait, didn't she date Sirius Black towards the end of the school year? Severus' brows furrowed. But then again, hadn't Black dated all the pretty girls?

There were still many questions Severus could not answer. She left during the first war. Why did she leave if she wanted to fight against the Dark Lord? Dumbledore never mentioned anything about her. Therefore obviously she was not in the old wizard's original plans. What made her show up now?

Just what exactly was she trying to accomplish? Severus had decided there was only one way to find out.

* * *

Snape silenced his footsteps as he approached Professor Macmillan's office. It took him no time to recognize Amycus Carrow's raspy voice.

"Have you ever wondered why the Dark Lord has not initiated you to become a Death Eater yet?" the Dark Arts teacher said in a low voice, "That's because no one around here can vouch for you." Carrow laughed wickedly and went on, "but I can do you a favor, and get you in very quickly."

Snape took a step closer to the door and listened intently as the Death Eater laid out his proposal to the witch.

"You see my dear," Carrow began, "there are many pretty girls like you who wanted to follow the Dark Lord. Some were smart, and got in quite quickly. The other ones," he let out a sympathetic sigh, "were not so lucky. But look at you! You have just the assets to get you around. Don't play hard to get with me and I'll lend you a hand. What do you say?"

"Get. Out." The witch answered coldly.

"Oh please. Don't be so difficult." Snape heard Carrow continuing his pursuit, "Woo... look at this pretty pendant, why hide it under your shirt? It matches your eyes perfectly. I'd like to see you wearing just this..."

Suddenly Snape heard a crisp slap coming from the room, followed by Carrow's surprised yelp.

"Don't you dare touching me!" The witch hissed.

Carrow cursed loudly by the apparent slap in the face. The next thing Snape heard was glass breaking and stacks of books falling to the floor. Quickly he pushed opened the door and saw Carrow and Macmillan standing face to face, with only a desk between them. The Death Eater had his hand clasping tightly around the witch's neck. Just when Snape thought Carrow had taken control of the situation, he noticed the witch's wand pointing straight at the Death Eater's throat.

"What are you two doing!" Snape bellowed.

The Headmaster's sudden appearance seemed to give Carrow a moment to think. He let go of the witch roughly and reached for his slightly swollen cheek. The witch however did not lower her wand. With her wand still pointing straight at the Death Eater's chest, she said through clinched teeth, "Don't you dare ever touch me again, Amycus Carrow. Now get out of my office!"

The Death Eater looked at the witch for a brief moment, as if considering his limited options. "You wait, Macmillan. It's not over." He gave a low grunt and stormed out of the room.

Snape waited until the Death Eater's footsteps disappeared in the distance before closing the door. He cast a silencing charm around the entrance and looked back at the witch.

Other than her slightly ruffled hair, the witch seemed perfectly calm. Snape couldn't help but noticing a beautiful sapphire pendant dangling out of the collar of her blouse. Following his gaze, she looked down and casually tugged her necklace away. She then smoothed out her blouse and sat down in her chair behind the desk.

"What brought you here today, Professor Snape?" She asked in a very professional manner, "What can I do for you?"

"I know why you are here." Snape began in his cool smooth voice.

"Oh really?" The corner of the witch's lips curled up slightly, "Good. I didn't expect you to forget so soon. We were both there when the Dark Lord assigned me to come teach here; although if you ask me, it is certainly not my preference."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Narrowing his eyes upon the witch in front of him, Snape slowly reached his mind into hers. He did not have the patience to bicker with her. He would get his answers right now, right here, through legilimency.

To his greatest surprise, his attempt was immediately confronted by something cold and bright. Other than a pool of icy blue, he could not go any further into the mind of the witch in front of him. Making it a more uncomfortable experience, he felt as if his own mind was lost in a room full of mirrors. Everywhere he turned, he was met by the image of himself.

He shook his head to clear his mind. And he heard the witch behind the desk let out a small laugh. "I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to get into my head, aren't you? Hasn't the Dark Lord shared with you already? That simply cannot be done."

Snape frowned and pulled his consciousness out the witch's control with a few blinks of his eye. As he regained his focus he asked, "So you are an occluments?"

"No," the witch answered dismissively with a wave of her hand, "not even close." She got up from her chair and walked around her desk to face Snape. "I could never read through all those books, " She shook her head and gave him a half-hearted smile. "so rest assure, I won't try to get into your head."

"I was born with this... condition." She continued on casually, "Call me a freak if you want. I don't mind. Very few people are born this way. But it came naturally. I don't need to do anything to block you. All I know is that as soon as you come into my mind, you will find your own mind reflecting back at you, just like looking at a million mirrors. Did that make you feel uncomfortable? I was told it could be quite an unpleasant feeling to be lost in the controls of my mind. So there, my secrets are all behind this giant mirror in my head. There is nothing you can do about it."

Snape took a deep breath and stared at the witch intensely, "I don't have time to go around in circles with you, Miss Hamilton. No more games."

The smile in the witch's face froze momentarily. But she quickly recovered and she looked right back at Snape. "Congratulations! You got your memory back. I was wondering why it was taking you so long. Must be the old age, eh?"

"Save the small talk Hamilton. Why are you here? Do you realize what a lousy spy you make?" Snape hissed, "You are practically wearing a neon sign glowing on your forehead."

"Oh a lousy spy huh?" Olivia laughed, "Look who is talking! The finest spy of all times! The one who betrayed a great wizard who trusted him so much. What is this Snape? Is double crossing the first lesson in spy academy?"

Her telepathic senses picked up a strange reaction from the wizard in front of her, but she quickly ignored it. She was furious. She came all the way here for her revenge, instead she had to deal with the harassment, first by Carrow and now by Snape.

Severus Snape could not intimidate her. She had her wand in her hand behind her back and she could do some serious damage on him if he refused to get out of her way. But she wanted to get some words out of her system first before deciding what she would do next.

"Let me tell you Snape, I am not a spy. This is your damn war and not mine. I don't take sides, and certainly will not switch around just for the fun of it. I am only here to do one thing and it does not concern you. So I need you to keep your nose out of my business. I am here to collect a debt that needs to be repaid. I'm here to get rid of Bellatrix Lastrange, and that is all. She shouldn't have killed Sirius Black, because I have unfinished business with him."

"Are you mad? You came to the Dark Lord for that? Let me get this straight. You came all the way here to revenge for an old flame?" Snape asked coldly.

"It is called love, Snape!" She raised her voice and shouted at him. And then she paused for a brief moment and looked right back at him in the eye, "Oh I'm sorry." she went on sarcastically, "I forgot. You won't understand. You don't know what love is, do you? You murdered the man who did all he could to keep you out of Azkaban. You pledge your allegiance to the man who killed Lily, the woman who cared so much about you even when her friends did not understand. What did Lily see in you anyway? Did you blind her with some dark magic of yours? You, Severus Snape, are cruel, heartless, and absolutely pathetic!"

Snape's face remained expressionless, yet his heart was pounding hard, and his emotions raging through his veins. He didn't know why the witch's words would have such an effect on him. It felt as if enery single accusation coming out of her mouth was a sharp knife stabbing straight into his chest. Once again he was reminded, that no one would ever know, that he did not want to kill Dumbledore. It was a favor, a strategy, an action he had to take without a choice. And who would ever understand the guilt that was tormenting him slowly all these years as he remembered how Lily died? No one, not a soul would ever know what he had to pay for his own mistakes and the wrong choices he once made when he was a lost young man.

He pressed his lips hard into a thin line and looked down briefly to searched for a proper retort. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her. But that did not prepare him for what he saw before him.

The witch was no longer staring at him with the cold and determined gaze. Instead, she was now staring at him with her eyes wide open, her deep blue eyes shimmering with tears. Her breaths seemed quickened as if she was gasping for air. A moment past and her tears broke the barriers. Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she continued staring at him.

"No..." She gasped, "I was wrong!" She took a step forward and whispered, "Everyone is wrong! What are you hiding? Which side are you on? Tell me the truth, Severus!"

Severus Snape took a stumble backwards when he heard her words. What did she know? He had no idea what had given away his secrets. He knew for a fact that she did not penetrate his mind. Just how did she know? He was frightened. And for the first time in years, Snape did not know what to do.

Suddenly the dark mark on his arm hissed with pain. Voldemort was calling him. Snape looked down at his arm and frowned. He couldn't remember when the last time it was when he actually felt relieved because of the Dark Lord's summon. He shot the witch a quick glance and hastily walked out of her office.

Taking a few more deep breaths Olivia calmed herself down. The emotions that she just sensed through Severus Snape's deep black eyes were overpowering. For a moment she thought the guilt, the love, and the pain that the man was feeling was going to suffocate her. She had definitely gotten it all wrong about him. For the first time Olivia wondered, what else had she gotten wrong? And what exactly was he going to tell her before she blew up on him? She could not let him walk away like this. She must go after him; because they needed to talk.

* * *

_**I would think the two of them probably made the same amount of progress in terms of getting to the bottom of each others' secrets. Which was... Not enough. You think?**_


	5. The Falcon's Story

_****__**All characters belong to the brilliant JKR... Except for the one.**_

_****__**As always, thanks JarODirt for your review! Also, thanks for those of you who follow the story. I have quite some plans for Severus and Olivia. I hope you'll like how the story goes. **_

* * *

**Chapter Five - The Falcon's Story**

The Dark Lord selected a small meadow by a dark forest for his late afternoon gatherings. When Snape arrived at the site, Voldemort had already concluded several small meetings with his various followers.

"Severus," the Dark Lord seemed very pleased to see the Headmaster from Hogwarts, "I am curious to learn your assessment of Miss Macmillan."

"She seems to be a very competent witch my Lord." Snape answered obediently.

"But I know that already." Voldemort gave an impatient laugh, "Did you observe any evidence that may suggest she is hiding something from me?"

Snape thought for a brief moment as if searching his memory hard, and then he replied confidently, "No my Lord, I don't think so. In fact, I think she is quite a simple witch in that regard. I believe she is reliable. My only concern is that she may not be very experienced. Therefore it would be my recommendation that she is not assigned with any challenging tasks too soon."

"Good." Voldemort smiled brightly, "That's a very good assessment and I appreciate it. Have I told you how much I value your service, Severus?"

Snape inclined his head towards the Dark Lord without a word.

"I shall make arrangements for her initiation, soon." Voldemort said cheerfully, "The event should also include some activities that may help her gain some experience." The Dark Lord smiled slyly as he paced before Snape, contemplating the plans for the newest addition to his league. Finally he nodded to himself with satisfaction and said, "That shall be all for today, Severus. Make sure you bring her along next time when I summon you."

Snape bowed politely and made his exist. As he walked away from the clearing, he saw the Dark Lord talking to Peter Pettigrew before leaving in a swirl of black smoke. Snape watched curiously as Pettigrew looked towards the darkening sky, as if waiting eagerly for someone to show up.

It was clear to Snape that Voldemort had given a set of orders to Pettigrew to relay to whomever he was expecting. Snape wondered if that had anything to do with the Dark Lord's plan of capturing Harry Potter.

Quietly he walked into the forest adjacent to the meadow and made his way behind a large pine tree. The darkening night gave him a good cover. He waited patiently in the darkness.

A while later a swirl of black smoke arrived at the meadow. It was Yaxley.

"Where have you been?" Pettigrew asked impatiently. "The Dark Lord wasn't happy about waiting and he just left."

"Did he leave me with any instructions?" Yaxley asked anxiously.

"Yes of course. He wanted you to get a hold of Bathilda Bagshot and bring her to him. That old witch has lived long enough. It's time for the Dark Lord to make some use out of her..."

Pettigrew lowered his voice and Snape couldn't quite catch the last few words. He took a small step to get closer, but walked right into a small pile of twigs. The crackling noise of the shattering branches broke the silence in the forest. Snape cursed inwardly and froze on the spot.

"Who's there!" Yaxley turned towards the forest immediately. Pettigrew followed his lead and pulled out his wand. Cautiously the two dark wizards made their way towards the woods.

Leaning against the large pine tree Snape held his breath. He could hear the two Death Eaters' footsteps getting closer and closer. As they approached the tree Snape could hear them splitting up. They must have suspected the big tree to be the hiding spot for the eavesdropper. Snape held his wand up, preparing for a nasty duel.

Just as he was ready to act, Snape heard Pettigrew's surprised yelp and noises of fluttering wings in the trees above them.

"Ouch! It bit me! What is this monster? Ouch! Ouch!" Pettigrew cried.

Carefully Snape took a peek around the tree and saw a large falcon with an impressive wingspan assaulting the two wizards.

The large bird quickly changed its target as Pettigrew fell to the ground. It flew right at Yaxley and dug its talons into his shoulders and head.

"It's a hawk you idiot!" Yaxley screamed and cursed as he tried desperately to get the bird off of his head.

The chaos lasted a minute or so as the bird kept clawing and biting and the two Death Eaters cried out in pain. Finally the bird took off and flew towards the moon-lit meadow. Yaxley climbed back on his feet and raised his wand towards the bird. A bright light shot out of his wand and made contact with the bird in midair. The bird gave a screeching cry before falling downwards towards the meadow.

"Blimey! I've never seen a hawk that big!" Pettigrew panted.

"I took care of it." Yaxley smiled at his wand proudly. "Let's get out of here before more strange creatures come out for the night. Let the Dark Lord know I will do what he wants me to do. I will bring the old witch to him soon."

Without another word the Death Eater disappeared in a swirl of black smoke. Pettigrew swore loudly for the unpleasant encounter with the raptor; and with a quiet pop, he was gone too.

Silence returned to the forest. Snape waited for another few seconds before walking out of the shadows of the tree. Swiftly he ran to the meadow where he thought the bird had fallen. He searched the grounds carefully and soon spotted some scattering feathers.

It was a starless night. With the moon shining brightly in the sky, the clearing was submerged in a silvery glow. Snape quickly surveyed the feathers on the ground and noticed some were covered with bright red liquid. He looked around the meadow but the bird was nowhere to be seen. He let out a sigh and looked back at the feathers once more. Suddenly, he noticed a small object lying quietly in the grass, giving out weak reflections of the shimmering moonlight. Snape's eyes widened when he picked it up and laid it in his palm.

It was a beautiful sapphire pendant on a silver chain. The chain was broken by an abrupt cut and was laced with blood.

Snape recognized the necklace instantly. He just saw it that same afternoon! A sudden realization and a wave or worrying thoughts overwhelmed him.

He looked around the meadow one more time before giving up on finding anyone there. Swiftly he left for Hogwarts in a swirl of black smoke.

* * *

Snape's black cloak billowed behind him as he hurried through the corridor to his old potions storage. Inside the storage he found what he was looking for: a small jar of ointment and a small glass vial of violet liquid.

His next destination was the teachers' living quarters. He was glad that it was late at night. The corridors were practically empty, and no one was there to stop and question the Headmaster's late night visit. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw a dim light coming under the door of the room belonged to the new Muggle Studies teacher.

"Macmillan," He knocked on her door softly, and called in an urgent but low voice. "Macmillan, open the door."

It was complete silence inside the room. Snape began to feel uneasy again.

"Macmillan," he raised his voice slightly, "are you in there?"

He heard soft footsteps moving on the other side of the door. But she did not answer.

He frowned and knocked again.

"Olivia," He called, "It's Severus." He paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "I found something that belongs to you."

He could hear her walking to the door and stopped. It sounded as if she was hesitating. A moment later he heard the wards slowly unlocked. The door cracked open and only half of her face came into view.

Looking at him warily she asked, "What is it?"

Snape reached into his chest pocket and fished out the necklace that he found in the clearing. He handed it to her through the half-open door.

She looked at the necklace, and back at him again. Sighing softly, she took it from him and opened the door a little wider. "Come on in." She whispered.

He followed her inside and watched her close the door behind them. She was wearing a bath robe and was not wearing any shoes. Her hair was a mess. Snape took note of the stiffness in her movements when she locked the door. As she turned to face him he was surprised by a large bruise on her left chin.

Wordlessly he followed her into her living-room. He watched as she put the necklace in a small box by her desk, and took her seat by the fireplace.

"The random display of bravery was completely unnecessary. You should not have been there." He said quietly as he sat down opposite her.

She arched an eyebrow at him and stared. After a moment she said, "You are welcome."

"Why did you follow me?" He ignored her and asked pointedly.

"We didn't finish our conversation." She answered.

"Conversation?" He scowled. "I wasn't aware that we were having one."

"Maybe that was the problem." She smiled weakly at him. "For that, I am sorry." Her voice was quiet, but she was sincere.

He frowned as he was reminded of her strange words. And he suddenly came to the realization that just as she didn't know him, there was a lot more about her that he didn't understand.

"You are an animagus?" He asked, changing the topic. "Was that how you kept up with Lupin and his animal friends?"

She nodded and smiled briefly, "It's always fun to fly."

"Does the Ministry know about that?" He cringed at the thought that the Death Eater controlled Ministry would soon be adding falcons to the list of "kill on sight".

"No," she answered quietly, "The registration requirements do not apply to foreigners temporarily visiting the country. I have to say that is probably the biggest loophole in your Ministry's policies." She thought for a brief moment and continued, "As long as Peter doesn't recognize me, I don't plan on making an announcement about that."

His brows furrowed, "Are you saying that Pettigrew could have recognized you if he was there at Malfoy's party the other night?"

She blinked at him innocently, "Maybe, if he had a better memory than you."

Snape shook his head in disbelief, "Do you realize how..."

"How dangerous that was?" she completed his sentence for him. "It wasn't my original plan to stay there that long." She sighed.

"No, _foolish_ was the word I was going to say." He snarled, "Your recklessness is astounding."

She didn't respond to his comment. Instead she just looked at him with her clear blue eyes.

He briefly considered the implication of having the falcon around the castle. Finally he said, "So, how much longer is the bird going to spy on me?"

She let out a chuckle, but quickly winced as if it was physically painful to laugh. "I won't spy on you as long as you tell me what your deal is."

He frowned as he made his quiet observation on her. "I don't think it concerns you." He answered plainly, "Especially not now. You look tired."

She shot him a cold glance before smiling again, "I'll let you in with a secret, Severus: you should never tell a lady that she looks tired. That is almost as rude as asking how old she is."

The corner of his lips twitched as a smile threatened to escape. "I'll keep that in mind, Olivia. Although right now I am simply stating the facts. Here," He held out his hand and handed her the small jar and the glass vial.

"What's this?"

"Take the potion at night and it'll help with the pain. The ointment is for cuts and bruises." He explained.

"I don't trust potions." She glared at him, not taking the jar or the vial.

"I brewed it myself." He stared back at her expressionlessly, "You can decide what you want to do with it."

She fixed her gaze upon him for a few moments and frowned. Slowly she reached over and picked up the jar and the vial. "Can you give me a hand?" She asked in a small voice before turning and making her way towards her bedroom.

He hesitated but decided to follow. She led him through her bedroom and into her bathroom. She turned on the lamps by the vanity countertop and handed him the jar that he just gave her. Slowly she turn her back towards him. After a deep breath she began to untie her robe. Gingerly she rolled down her robe and revealed her back to him. Severus inhaled sharply as he saw a gnashing wound stretched from her neck all the way down below her shoulder blades. The ugly cut was quite deep. Beads of bright red blood seeped through the cut and made a striking contrast with her ivory back.

"I can't reach it." She said simply.

Without a word Severus pulled out his wand. Softly he murmured the charms to close the wound.

Olivia let out a shaky sigh as she felt the tinkling sensation on her back. She closed her eyes and felt the cooling effect of the ointment as he applied it gently over the wound.

"I will cancel your classes tomorrow. Stay here and rest." He said quietly when he was done.

With her eyes still closed, she nodded. Then she listened as his footsteps quickly moved away from her. He walked through the bathroom and the bedroom, and stopped briefly in the living-room. He didn't say another word, before closing the door quietly behind him.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Olivia swallowed the violet liquid in the glass vial with one gulp. Soon the sharp pain in her back began to subside as the potion worked its magic. Slowly she climbed into bed and closed her eyes. Before drifting away into a comfortable slumber, she heard Lily's voice again, "Sev is misunderstood... too often... by too many."

* * *

Contrary to what Olivia had hoped, she never had a chance to continue their "conversation" in the following weeks. In fact, she had a feeling that the Headmaster had been avoiding her.

He was no longer following her in the castle. Instead, he had been staying in his office most of the days, sometimes even through lunch. She found that the dinner time in the great hall had become the only chance when she would see him. She shot him curious glances when he took his seat next to her by the table.

Ever since the first day of school, the teachers seemed to have decided on the seating arrangements, leaving the Headmaster always stuck between Carrow and Macmillan. With him sitting next to her, Olivia could always sense his curiosity about her, and his genuine concerns about her well being. She tried to strike up small conversations with him, asking him about his day. Yet he would never say more than a few words.

The night of Halloween Olivia noticed Severus did not come to the feast. The students and the other professors did not seem to mind the absence of the Headmaster. Amycus Carrow seemed to be even chattier than usual, trying everything to get Olivia's attention all the way through desert.

It felt like forever before Olivia could leave the great hall and return to her own quarters. She sat in her room and thought about Severus. What was he doing? She knew Voldemort did not summon him, because from what she heard at their last meeting, he was supposed to bring her along next time when the Dark Lord was to summon him. So what would he be doing hiding in his quarters? The secrets he was hiding had been driving her insane. And this was the night when she decided she would do something about it.

Quickly she ordered a small tray of fruit and cheese from the house elves, and made her way to his private quarters. She knocked on his door several times but he did not answer. Yet the shuffling footsteps gave him away: he was inside. She smiled mischievously and knocked on the door one last time. After that she summon a comfortable arm chair and set it right outside his door. With another wave of her wand she had a small cafe table set next to the chair. She put the small tray of food on the table and curled up in the chair comfortably. And then, she waited.

A few minutes later she heard him unlocking his door. Her smile widened into a grin when she saw his surprised expression as he finally opened his door.

"Hi there stranger." She greeted him casually like she would to an old friend back home in America. "I would have said trick or treat, but somehow I have a feeling that you won't have any candy for me."

Severus frowned at the sight of her and shook his head, "Insufferable." He grumbled.

"Are you going invite me in?" She asked with a bright smile in her face.

"Do I have a choice?" He drawled.

She chuckled and got up to her feet. With a wave of her wand the chair and the table vanished into thin air. Holding the small tray of food she marched through his door. "Didn't see you at dinner so I thought you could use some food." She said cheerfully.

Severus simply stared at her.

Realizing she was not planning on leaving right away, he closed the door and let out a sigh. Slowly he walked past her and back into his living-room. "Why are you here?" he asked impassively.

She set the tray down on his coffee table and made herself comfortable in the sofa, "I quite enjoy our last conversation; so I thought we should give it another go." She said happily, as if their last conversation was as lighthearted and entertaining as a discussion over a cup of coffee.

"What is there to talk about." He answered darkly as he sat down behind his desk. "I know why you are here and as you have requested," he paused for a moment and continued to stare at her blankly, "I am keeping my nose out of your business."

"I did apologize, didn't I?" She arched an eyebrow at him. "And as part of the bargain, I will only stop spying on you if you explain to me what you are doing here."

"There was never a bargain, Hamilton." He answered coolly, "And besides, I don't care if you waste your time following me. I am not Bellatrix Lestrange. What good would it do to you if you kept spying on me?"

"It will satisfy my curiosity." She leaned towards him and looked him straight in the eye. "No one should deserve to live his life in such misery, Severus."

He was taken aback by her statement. Taking a few moments to gather his thoughts, Severus stared back at witch and asked, "What do you know about misery? It is not your place to judge. I made mistakes in my past and this is the punishment that I deserve." He took a deep breath and asked again, "Just how do you know about how I feel anyway?"

"You can lock your secrets away," She answered quietly, "but my telepathic abilities allow me to feel how you feel." She paused for a moment and continued, "I feel your pain, your guilt, and your suffering. I also feel the love you have for her. I feel all of it, but I don't understand. I don't understand why a man who is capable of loving so deep has to suffer so much. Help me understand Severus. Don't you want to at least share your burdens with a friend?"

Severus pressed his lips tight together as he considered the witches words. A moment later he drew a deep breath and got up from his seat, "No, Hamilton. I don't think so." He walked to the door and opened it, "The conversation is over. I think you should leave now."

Olivia let out a sigh and made her way out. As she walked past him she murmured, "Severus, you are not the only one who made mistakes."

That night, on the anniversary of the day when he lost his Lily, Severus spent hours thinking about Olivia's words. How could she judge him based on how he felt? Were feelings really more convincing than facts? Would she change her opinion about him if he told her the truths? Did he really have a friend in her?

* * *

_****__**For a brief moment I thought Severus would like to open up to the witch. But then I thought, no, it wouldn't be him if he opened up so easily. There's got to be more to make our Severus talk. I hope the pace is acceptable so far. Love to know what you think. The review button is just a click away! =) **_

_****__**Also, I think I may have to change the rating to M starting form the next chapter. I hope that won't create any problems for you.**_


	6. An Unexpected Friendship

_****__**All characters belong to the brilliant JKR... Except for the one.**_  


_****__**Thanks JarODirt, GreeceGirl99, SnapeBella415, TheEscapeFromReality and ScottK010 for your kind words. I really appreciate it.**_

_****__**Here is how our story continued... And be honest with you, I'm never sure about the ratings. I just thought that because of certain language choices, violence, and some other potential issues, M is probably necessary from here on. I'm a mom with a little girl, so I am always a bit paranoid. =)**_

* * *

**Chapter Six - An Unexpected Friendship **

"Excuse me? What did you say?" Olivia stared at the young Slytherin boy in front of her in disbelief.

"Please, Professor Macmillan. I just want to see how a television set works one more time; and I promise I will be able to finish up with the essay that you assigned us." A blond hair boy begged in his teacher's office.

"But why do you care so much about this essay?" Olivia looked at the student curiously. "I know you are worried. But why? It's just Muggles Studies for heaven's sake. Why would you care so much about this subject?"

"I haven't had a good mark for my other classes for a while Professor." The boy continued to plead, "My dad will kill me if I don't get something above a P."

"And he will let you off the hook if you get an A in Muggle Studies?" The teacher did not seem convinced.

"Yes!" the young Slytherin answered eagerly. "Please Professor. I don't even know where to start with the homework. Just let me see how it works one more time and I will do fine."

Olivia rolled her eyes and let out a grunt. What a hassle being a teacher! Now she has to set it all up again. Not that it's difficult, but to make a television to work within the castle would require a generator to be hooked up to the machine, with a complete antenna properly positioned outside the window. Thank goodness for magic. If she couldn't have it all done with a few waves of her wand, she would have made the boy draw a television set in exchange for an A.

With a wave of her wand she had the television out from the cabinet and all the other equipment necessary for the display. She then turned to open the window and began getting all the wires connected with the antenna for the demonstration. Without her knowing, the young Slytherin carefully pulled out a glass vial and walked by the cup of tea on the teacher's desk. While Olivia was thoroughly annoyed by the wires created according to Muggle logic, she did not notice the boy slowly emptying the content of the vial into her cup.

"Alright, take a good look and go finish your homework." Olivia pointed at the news program on TV and gestured the student to come forward.

The boy quickly walked over to the muggle technology. After a few glances, he smiled brightly at the teacher. "Thanks professor! This really helps! Good night professor!"

"That's it?" Olivia couldn't believe her eyes. As the boy walked by her desk she suddenly detected something strange from the boy. He was hiding something. What could it be? Was it really a common trait for all Slytherins to be so secretive? She frowned, but did not have the interest to stop the student for interrogation.

With another wave of her wand, she turned off the television and sent everything back into the storage room. It was getting late in the evening. She sighed as she looked at a pile of the homework that she still had to grade, and absentmindedly picked up her tea.

They used to say back home in the old days that the good women would always become teachers or nurses. Olivia was sure teaching was not the thing for her. With her previous experience with potions, she was sure nursing would be out of the question, too. Well, maybe she was never a good woman to begin with. Olivia shook her head and laughed at her own thoughts.

Suddenly, she felt her hands beginning to tremble. She put her cup down so that she wouldn't spill the tea. She looked at her hands and became further alarmed as her fingers began to feel numb. Quickly she got up from her seat, wondering what had gone wrong with her. But as soon as she got up her legs gave up on her. As she fell to the floor horror struck her: she had been drugged.

As she lost control over her limbs her mind was racing... the Slytherin boy. Why did she sense so much fear in him when he first arrived in her office, and so much relief right before he left? Someone had threatened him into doing this. The tea! He put potion in her tea!

Olivia began to panic as she realized she had lost all her feelings in her legs. Who could she ask for help? There was only person that came to her mind. Before she completely lost control over her arms and hands she summoned her wand. A silvery falcon flew out of her window before her wand slipped between her fingers and dropped to the floor.

She could hear footsteps coming to her office. Could that be him? That was quick! But her relief quickly turned into alarm as Amycus Carrow walked in the door.

The Death Eater was grinning ear to ear when he found the witch lying helplessly on the floor. He pick her up by her hair and sneered, "I always get what I want Macmillan. You made quite a mistake when you turned me down!"

Olivia wanted to scream for help, but realized in horror that she couldn't make a sound. She stared at the Death Eater as fear began to fill her heart.

Without warning Carrow slapped her hard in the face and let her fall back down on the floor. "That's for slapping me, bitch!"

"Don't you just love the dark arts?" Carrow walked over to Olivia's side and began coldly, "Just a few drops and you are all mine. That little vial cost me twenty galleons. But I bet it's worth every single knut!" He laughed wickedly as he got down to pick up the witch's limp body.

It was absolutely a torture as she could see and hear and feel everything. She wanted to vomit as the Death Eater ran his fingers down her chin and began fondling with her breasts. But she simply could not react. Not a single muscle seemed to respond to her command.

The Death Eater walked out of the witch's office with his prey in his arms, eager to return to his quarters. But he was stopped by a stern voice from behind.

"Good evening Amycus." It was Snape. "May I inquire what you are doing with Professor Macmillan in the corridors in such a late hour?" the Headmaster asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Carrow slowly turned around to face the Headmaster. He was surprised. He didn't think anyone would be visiting this part of the school at this hour.

"S..S..Snape!" the Death Eater stuttered, "Well, sh...sh...she fainted."

Snape raised an eyebrow as he walked towards the Death Eater. He took a quick look at the witch. One of her arms was dangling by her side. Her head slouched backwards lifelessly. There was a small cut in the corner of her lips. Her eyes were half open in a daze.

"Fainted?" Snape looked back at Carrow and said in his smooth cool voice, "Do you honestly think after being the potions master for two decades, I can't tell the difference between fainted and drugged?"

"Alright alright you caught me." Carrow smiled slyly at the Headmaster. "Look, let's just keep it between us alright? This assignment at Hogwarts is really getting on my nerves. It's boring as hell Snape. I really don't know how you can take it for so long. These kids are giving me the worst headache. I need some fun with a lady friend alright? She won't dare telling anyone. I will make sure of that."

"You might have picked the wrong witch for your entertainment I'm afraid." Snape stared at Carrow blankly.

"What makes you say that?" the Death Eater's eyes widened but he quickly smirked and said, "Oh I see Snape. You've got good taste. Didn't know you've got a thing for her too. Well, I don't mind sharing." He gave a nasty smile at his own suggestion.

"I have to admit that I have underestimated how filthy your mind is." Snape gave the Death Eater a disgusted glare. "How unfortunate," he went on coldly, "the wizard that's got an eye on this witch is not as easy going as me. Do you ever wonder what the Dark Lord would say if he discovers his newly acquired companion was violated by a pitiful follower of his?"

All colors disappeared from Carrow's face. His jaw dropped wide open upon hearing Snape's word. He blinked a few times before he could find his voice again, "That's not good... not good... I didn't know... What should I... I must obliviate her, right this minute! Will you please keep the secret for me? Snape, Please!" The Death Eater began to plead desperately.

"Obliviate her?" Snape laughed coldly, "You really think the Dark Lord can't tell if her memory had been tempered? You really should know by now, that the Dark Lord is often worried more about what is NOT there."

"What should I do then?" The Death Eater looked mortified.

"Too bad you don't have the right potions to wipe her memory clean, Amycus. Only potions can do this job. You have my most sincere condolence." Snape inclined slightly towards Carrow and slowly turned away.

"Wait!" Carrow hurried to catch up with the Headmaster, "What do you mean? Potions... You know potions. You have a way. You have a way to fix this don't you. Please! You've got to help me. Please! I will do anything! You name it, I'll do it!"

Snape looked at the Death Eater with a blank stare. A moment later he said, "I will only help you this once. If you do anything this stupid again you will be on your own."

"Yes yes yes!" Carrow answered eagerly, "Bloody hell! I will never lay a finger on her ever again! Only an idiot would want to get in his way!"

The Death Eater quickly dropped the witch in the Headmaster's arms as if she was a piece of burning hot iron.

Snape stood quietly in the corridor with the witch in his arms as the Death Eater hurry down the hall. Watching Carrow disappearing into the darkness, Snape murmured, "Hopefully I will never need to rescue you from this idiot again."

* * *

After laying the witch gently down in the sofa, Severus hurried to his work. Even though he was no longer the potions master, he still maintained quite a collection of potion ingredients his office. He was always prepared to put together an antidote with moments of notice. If Dumbledore had come to him sooner... Severus winced at the memory of the old Headmaster's injured hand. He wondered how everything would have turned out if he was given a chance to cure the old wizard's cursed hand.

Severus rolled up his sleeves before pulling out several glass phials from his cabinet. Carefully he laid them out on his desk next to a silver scale. With a wave of his wand, he had a small crystal cup on one side of the scale and a golden weight on the other. Drop by drop he added precise amount of liquid into the crystal cup. A few minute later, the liquid in the cup turned into a color of clear turquoise. With a sigh of relief he picked up the cup and walked swiftly to the witch's side. Holding her up into a sitting position with his steady arms, Severus tipped the cup against her lips and let the potions slowly trickle down her throat.

It did not take long for the magic to work. A moment later Olivia let out a gasp as all senses came back to her. For a lingering moment she found herself lost in his deep dark eyes. Seeing that she was all back to normal, he slowly released her from his arms and leaned her back into the sofa.

She closed her eyes briefly and let out a soft sigh. "I hate potions." She hissed under her breath.

"May I remind you that it was potions that brought you back?" He pressed his lips tight together.

"I wouldn't need it if it was not because of the first dose." She muttered.

"You are welcome." He shot back, with a small smile hanging in the corner of his lips.

"Fine. We are even now." She stared at him and said plainly. And then she blinked and smiled, "That was a terrible lie by the way. The Dark Lord's new companion? I can't believe he bought that."

"Carrow is too dumb to question it. Also, it is the best way to keep him away from you."

"That's for sure." she let out a small laugh, "He won't dare touching me again with a ten-foot pole!"

He shot her a curious glance, amused by her choice of words.

"Thank you by the way," she looked at him with her clear blue eyes, "for coming to my assistance."

"If you really want to thank me," Severus walked back to his desk and began to put away all the glass vials and instruments, "You will leave immediately tonight and stay as far as you can from the war." he paused for a second and looked back at her, "This is, after all, our war, as you had rightfully stated. It's not your place to be among the Death Eaters."

She looked down at her fingers and examined her nails. When she looked back up at him she smiled weakly, "You think I would be scared away by Amycus Carrow?"

Severus shook his head, "It is not about living up to the reputation of a Gryffindor. This has nothing to do with courage or bravery. You are here for a personal reason. That is not good enough to risk your life."

Olivia raised her eyebrows as she stared back at Severus, "do you hear what you are saying?" She smiled, "Isn't that why you are here? Aren't you here for a personal reason, too? Isn't that what you are trying to do? Revenge for her? Revenge for Lily?"

Her words startled him and he lost his voice for a brief moment. "No." He finally said, "You won't understand. It is beyond personal for me." He signed, "This is our war."

Olivia contemplated his words, while studying him from where she was sitting. Slowly he walked away from his desk, and stopped quietly by the window. The moonlight enveloped him in a soft pale glow. He stood tall in his long black coat, dark as a shadow, lonely as a ghost.

"Your war? You meant to say Severus Snape's personal war?" Quietly she voiced her observation. "Who do you have on your side Severus? The Death Eaters would eat you alive if they discover whatever secrets you are hiding from them. And the Order? Even Remus wants you dead. Not to mention McGonagall, who would for sure hex you if she gets the chance. You don't have a single ally in your war. You are doomed!"

"That is none of your concern." He shot back a stern look at her. "Don't try to change the subject."

Suddenly something in his arm seemed to distract him. Olivia watched in surprise as he winced and looked down at his left arm. A black serpent was swirling on his skin. It was the dark mark. When he looked back at her she saw a trace of fear in his deep dark eyes.

"He is calling, for you." He whispered, "You are running out of time. Leave! Now!"

"Absolutely not!" She stood up immediately, "I am so close now Severus! So close! You can't possibly be thinking that I will give up the opportunity to achieve my goal!"

"Don't be a fool!" He bellowed, "He wants you to be a Death Eater. It's the initiation tonight. There will be dozens Death Eaters there. It's always like that for the initiation ceremonies. Even if Bellatrix Lestrange does show up, it will be impossible for you to formulate an attack. And if you try, I can guarantee that you will not be able to come out alive!"

"You never know for sure." She stared back at him. "If I can't kill her tonight, I will for sure be one step closer by being inside the group. We will leave right away, after I get my wand from my office."

Quickly she walked out of the Headmaster's office, and returned within minutes. "Shall we?" she reached out for his hand, "Would you please lead the way?"

She watched as he let out a deep sigh before taking her hand. Right before she let the power of the swirl of black smoke take over for their journey, she sensed an unusual emotion in his deep dark eyes. She recognized it, almost immediately. It was something that she had not felt for many many years.

* * *

_**Sorry it's a little short. This is kind of an interim transition of the story. The next chapter will be a bit more emotionally charged. As always, I would love to know what you think! Review please?**_


	7. A Very Dark Night

**_All characters belong to the brilliant JKR... Except for the one, whose actions are completely my responsibility._**

**_Thanks ScottK010 for your continuing encouragement. Also, thank you all for following the story. You keep me going!_**

**_Part of the following chapter is a bit darker than I would like it to be. However I do think this is a step that Severus and Olivia need to experience before they can develop a better understanding of each other, which hopefully will become the foundation of a realistic relationship._**

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**Chapter Seven - A Very Dark Night**

The swirl of black smoke brought the two unlikely companions to the edge of a set of stone staircase leading to a large cave in the mountain. There was a bonfire outside the cave on the edge of the stone cliff. Tall orange flames reached high into the starry sky, like angry serpents guarding the entrance of the Dark Lord's den.

Severus did not release Olivia's hand right away as a shrill of maniacal laughter reached their ears. From his hesitation Olivia got the information she needed.

"That's her," she looked straight into his deep dark eyes, "isn't it?"

"There are too many of them. Don't do it." Severus hissed.

Ignoring him completely, Olivia pulled her hand out of Severus' grasp and hurried up the stone steps towards the cave. Quickly he caught up with her, but soon found themselves in the company of a few dozen Death Eaters.

"Ah Miss Macmillan!" A cold high voice greeted them, "I'm so glad to see you again." Voldemort walked out of the cave, with a satisfying grin in his face.

Olivia inclined slightly to greet the Dark Lord, but her eyes never stopped searching through the Death Eaters behind Voldemort. Within seconds she spotted a witch with crazy curly black hair.

Following her gaze, Voldemort turned his head towards Bellatrix Lestrange. "Yes, finally. I know you've been eager to meet her Olivia. May I present to you, Bellatrix Lestrange."

Olivia smiled coldly at the curly-hair witch. Everything around her suddenly disappeared. All she could hear was her own heart pounding in her ears. All she could see was the witch who murdered the man who meant so much to her. Slowly she reached down her pocket for her wand, but suddenly found her arm caught by a strong hand. It was Severus.

He came up to her from behind and stood in the shadow of the night. Using the darkness as his cover, he kept his hand tight around her wrist, preventing her from proceeding with her suicide mission.

"Macmillan?" Bellatrix stared at the young witch with a curious glare. "Narcissa insisted that our families share a common root. But why can't I remember having a cousin in America? How do I know you don't have any filthy blood from the Yankees?"

Subtly Olivia tried to pull her arm out of Severus' grasp, but could not prevail. She frowned at her failed attempt and turned her attention to Bellatrix. "Bellatrix Lestrange. You certainly live up to your reputation. Your heart is colder than ice. You can't even recognize your own family? I sure hope you haven't lost your mind spending all those years in Azkaban."

The Dark Lord and his followers observed the two bickering witches with great interest; and they were slightly surprised when they heard Severus' cool smooth voice. "How amusing it is to observe two ladies fighting for your affection, my Lord."

Voldemort laughed wickedly upon hearing the young wizard's comments. "No need to fight over me ladies! Let's enjoy the celebration tonight. I am very glad to welcome a few new members to my league."

Slowly he walked next to Olivia and smiled at the witch. His red eyes glared in the dark, like the flames of the bonfire next to them. "I want you to know that I am very pleased to have you here Olivia. As a welcome gift, I would like to offer you a little entertainment."

With a wave of his bony hand, the Dark Lord gave a couple of his followers the order. Two Death Eaters disappeared into the cave briefly, and returned dragging a man behind them. When they got closer, they dropped the man's lifeless body onto the ground next to the bonfire.

Olivia felt her breath caught in her throat. At first she thought the man was dead. But she soon realized her mistake when he struggled to get up. He was quite young, probably just in his early twenties. His messy light brown hair was covered with dirt, mud, and dark liquid that was possibly, blood. Olivia could not have guessed what they had done with him. His face was covered with cuts and bruises. When he finally managed look up she saw his haunted eyes. She froze as her gaze met his. It was fear, absolute fear. That was all she could sense in the broken man before her.

"You see my child," the Dark Lord started coldly, "this man claimed to be a wizard, but he was a muggle-born. He is too stubborn to follow the rules, to have himself registered with the Ministry. That's why we have him here tonight. He needs a lesson; and you my child, perhaps can use some practice?"

With another wave of his hand the Dark Lord called Bellatrix forward. Smiling slyly the witch with crazy curly hair pointed her wand at the poor wizard. "Crucial!" She yelled. The poor lad let out an agonizing groan as his body convulsed under the torture curse.

Olivia held back the stinging tears that were threatening to break loose. She wished Severus could let go of her arm. She wished she could cast the killing curse on Bellatrix. But the wizard behind him seemed to have guessed her plans. His grip on her wrist became even tighter.

When the curse was finally lifted, the young man was shivering on the ground, gasping for air. Without warning, Bellatrix pointed her wand at him again and cast the imperius curse. Possessed by an unknown power, the young man leaped to his feet and reached out his arm towards the bonfire. He gave a terrible scream as the angry flames began to consume his flesh and bones. Olivia watched in horror as his whole body trembled in pain. No matter how he struggled however, the young wizard could not remove his hand from the burning fire.

"That's good enough for now." Voldemort suddenly came forward and stopped Bellatrix.

Bellatrix Lestrange sneered at the wizard on the ground before stepping backwards and disappearing into the crowd. The young man collapsed immediately, cradling his arm, whimpering in agony.

"What do you think of the demonstration Olivia." The Dark Lord looked at Olivia with a grin in his face, "Would you like some practice?"

Olivia felt the grasp on her arm loosened. Severus had no choice but to let her reach for her wand. For a very brief moment, Olivia turned to look at the dark-hair wizard, and found his deep dark eyes watching over her, full of concern. Without a word she pulled out her wand, and took a step closer to the young wizard trembling by the fire.

The young man was barely conscious. He looked at Olivia with his dark brown eyes. "Please..." his lips moved, but the word was barely audible.

Pointing her wand at the man, Olivia paused. A moment later she murmured a word through clinched teeth. A bright green light shot out of her wand and hit the wizard square in the chest. There was a small sparkle lingered in his deep brown eyes. But a second later, the small glint of light was gone with his last breath. He was dead.

A couple of the Death Eaters let out a small gasp. They were told the young witch was inexperienced; and did not expect her to use the killing curse during her first "practice round". Voldemort himself was quite surprised, too. "I did not expect that," he admitted, "I thought you might not have the experience..."

"To kill?" Olivia finished the Dark Lord's words coldly.

"Well," Voldemort paced in. Front of the witch, stroking his chin, "I was expecting you to have some fun playing with the spells and curses first."

"I don't see the need to waste any more time, my Lord." Olivia answered calmly. "I want to impress upon you that I _AM_ capable of doing many things, my Lord, perhaps a lot more if you pair me up with Bellatrix."

"So eager!" the Dark Lord began to laugh, "I like that about you Olivia! We may find better use of your talent. That I am very sure! Come here my child! Are you ready for the dark mark?"

Slowly the young witch rolled up her sleeve and revealed her left arm. The Dark Lord smiled brightly as his wand made contact with her ivory skin. Olivia felt a burning pain but she did not twitch a muscle. A few seconds later Voldemort walked away, leaving the witch staring at a giant serpent swirling on her forearm.

She couldn't quite remember how the rest of the night went. Many Death Eaters came to congratulate her. Voldemort performed a couple more initiation ceremonies and welcomed two young wizards by branding them with dark marks in their arms. She tried to look for Bellatrix every direction she turned; but the witch seemed to have vanished into the group of dark wizards.

By the end of the night Olivia felt dizzy. She closed her eyes as she felt the familiar hand took hold of hers, and took her away in a swirl of black smoke.

* * *

Olivia followed Severus into the castle like a ghost. As they walked through the quiet corridor, she did not make a single sound. When they got into his office she simply stood by the window, with her eyes fixed upon the distant night. She seemed haunted, shocked, and lost.

Severus was worried. He had never seen her like this before. Watching her carefully from a few feet away, he contemplated what to say.

"Would you like something to drink?" He finally found an innocent question, hoping it would make the witch start talking.

She nodded, but did not say a word.

He frowned at her response, but decided to try again, "Tea? Butterbeer? Pumpkin juice?"

She blinked at his question but did not answer. At first he thought she didn't hear him. A moment later he heard her say in a small voice, "Do you have anything stronger?"

Severus frowned at the request, but he didn't question her judgement. Quietly he opened his cupboard and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey. "I don't have any wine in the office. Will this do? Or do you want me to summon the house elves..."

She walked straight to his side and took the bottle from him before he could finish his question. Carrying the liquor with her, she sat down in the sofa and took a long swig. Severus' brows furrowed as he stood watch.

A wave of complicated emotions overwhelmed him. He was angry, for his failure to convince her to leave earlier that night. He was bitter, for her ignoring his warning. But above all, he was sorry. Severus felt as if he was responsible for the dark mark on her arm. He felt as if he was the one to blame for ruining something that used to be perfect, for tainting something that used to be pure, and for damaging something that used to be free. When he finally found his voice, he heard himself saying, "I am sorry..."

She looked up at him, with a blank stare in her eyes. "What are you sorry for?" She asked.

He pressed his lips into a thin line and pointed at her arm. "That... the dark mark... I'm sorry that he made you a Death Eater."

She let out a halfhearted laugh and said dismissively, "It's just another tattoo. Not a big deal. You have it too don't you? But I don't consider you one of them."

His frown deepened. "I hope you understand... why I didn't let you take on Bellatrix. There were too many..."

"I know." She cut him off. "I know you were trying to protect me; although don't count on me to thank you anytime soon for stopping me." She shook her head briefly, and was quiet again.

The silence in the room became suffocating. Severus watched uncomfortably as Olivia took another swig of the liquor. The witch sitting in front of him suddenly seemed like a different person. She sat with her shoulders slightly slouched forward, her eyes fixed on the floor. All the sparks in her seemed to have vanished. An unknown demon was consuming her from within.

Severus wanted, but didn't know how, to comfort the witch. So he decided to offer his company in silence.

When she finally looked up at him he saw glistening tears in her eyes. "That was my first time." She whispered.

Severus' eyes widened. "First time for what?"

She closed her eyes and two silvery lines of tears ran down her cheeks. "I've never killed anyone before." She let her tears fall freely while picking up the bottle of firewhiskey again.

Before her lips could touch the liquor, Severus was by her side. He took the bottle from her and said in a quiet but stern voice, "Enough. You shouldn't be drinking this."

"Why not!" She let out a small sob. "What difference does it make? I can't feel anything. I don't have a heart. I just ended an innocent life! I shouldn't have..."

"You didn't have a choice!" Severus stopped her in mid sentence. "You knew he would not be able to make it through the night. You did him a favor by giving him a quick and comfortable death. Don't blame it on yourself Olivia. You couldn't have saved him."

She shook her head sadly and covered her face with her hands, "You don't understand..."

He set the firewhiskey down on the coffee table and sat opposite the witch in an arm chair. He watched in silence as she cried. When she finally calmed down a while later, he asked, "What don't I understand?"

She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and let out a sigh. "I turned down Sirius' proposal many years ago, because I thought we were too young. The day when he proposed, he agreed he would wait for me. But a few days later, right before I left for home, we had a fight." She took a deep breath and looked out the window into the endless darkness. "He brought it up again, and said that he didn't want me to leave. He tried to convince me that it would be the right thing to do for me to stay and fight the Dark Lord. I was stubborn, and didn't want to be convinced. So I told him I would never fight in his war because I would never want to hurt anyone, even if that 'anyone' was a Death Eater. We were both furious. Sirius said I had no concept of right and wrong. And I..." A string of tear drops fell on the back of her hand, "I called him a cold-blooded killer."

"That was the last thing I said to him." She continued on after a few moments. "And look at me now. I killed. I killed someone for no reason. I took an innocent life! What does this make me? At least Sirius killed for a reason, probably a very good reason."

"It's not your fault. You can't be so hard on yourself." Severus offered plainly.

"What do you know?" She shot a quick glance back at him, "I'm all messed up! I can't tell right from wrong! I'm not like you. At least you are doing the right things for the right reasons. You don't have to tell me your secrets, I have some ideas. You are on the right side. You made the right choice."

While she didn't hear his response she looked up at him, and was surprised by the haunted look in his face. His deep dark eyes were filled with guilt. "You don't know me." He finally said quietly.

She frowned at his words and looked at him curiously, and waited quietly for him to continue. And that was when Severus Snape opened up his heart for the first time in many many years, and relived the days when he chose to follow the Dark Lord, to spy for him, and to unintentionally send the Potters into their doom. "I begged him, I begged him to spare Lily." Severus' voice was small, almost like a whisper. "But he took her life. I should have known. It was all my fault. I didn't choose the right side. I didn't do the right thing. By the time I realize my mistakes it was too late. I had my best friend murdered." The dark-hair wizard closed his eyes as his heart clinched in pain, "And she would never know, she would never know how much..." His voice broke, and he couldn't say another word.

"How much you loved her." She whispered the words he wanted to say.

The two sat quietly in Snape's office for a long time. Neither of them spoke; each consumed by their own painful memories. Finally he got up and walked to her side, "It's getting late. I will walk you back to your room."

She did not protest, and followed him quietly through the castle back to her quarters.

Quietly she opened her door. Before stepping inside however, she turned around, and looked up at his deep dark eyes. "Would you come in for a little while?" Sensing his hesitation, she said again, "Please. I don't want to be alone."

She waited patiently, holding the door open, leaving him with no other choice. Letting out a sigh he followed her in. He stood in the entrance way as she locked the wards. When she turned back to him she said, "stay with me tonight."

"No!" He answered immediately. "That is unprofessional and not acceptable."

"Unprofessional?" She let out a small laugh, "I just killed someone tonight. I think my sin is far beyond unprofessional. And unacceptable?" she tilted her head towards him, "Just who is there to judge?"

She took a step closer to the dark-hair wizard and reached for his face with her delicate fingers.

Looking at her beautiful blue eyes Severus' heart trembled. He knew he should leave; yet a part of him was desperate for her touch.

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, trying to calm the storm that was brewing inside. He felt her fingers running through his hair, with her thumbs gently stroking his brows. He couldn't trust himself to open his eyes, as if opening them would release his deepest desire. A moment later he felt her soft warm lips on his. Her light kisses danced on his lips tenderly, sending waves of electricity throughout his whole body. He could feel his self control quickly crumbling.

Taking the witch by her small waist, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her back. Her soft lips parted and a small moan escaped from her. Feeling his desire threatening to take over, Severus pulled back from the witch. He took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down. "No," he murmured, "I shouldn't... I should leave."

"Don't go." She answered quietly. Without another word she began to caress him again. Gentle kisses fell on his cheeks, on his chin, and down his neck. "Stay here tonight." she whispered, "I want to do this Severus. I've seen enough sorrow. I want to bring you pleasure. Let me do this. Let me please you. We will not speak a word about tonight when the morning comes. There will be no promises, no obligations, and no commitments. Stay with me Severus. Please."

When her sweet soft lips met his again he gave in to his desire. He picked her up with his strong arms and headed straight to her bedroom.

"No promises." She whispered in his ear when they sank into the silky sheets.

"No." He answered.

"No obligations." She said quietly when she unbutton his crisp white shirt.

"No."

"And no commitments." She murmured as he ran his hands down the delicate skin of her perfect curves.

"No commitments." He answered quietly, before capturing her delicious lips with his own.

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_**Review Please! =)**_


	8. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**_If you recognize it, I don't own it._**

**_Here is how the story goes..._**

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**Chapter Eight - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back**

Severus woke up feeling disoriented. For a few moments he couldn't tell where he was. Only one thing was for sure: he was not in his own bed. Without opening his eyes he could tell the differences: the bed was much too soft; the sheets were much too warm; and the scent, the light lavender scent, smelt like a woman. A woman! Severus frowned and the events from the night before slowly came back to him. Carefully he opened his eyes and saw the crown of her raven hair.

Olivia was still asleep, with her head resting on his chest, and her arms wrapping around his shoulders. Gently he lifted her up by her arms and laid her down into the bed. She stirred in her sleep but didn't wake. Instead she moved closer to him and snuggled against his right shoulder.

Quietly Severus got on his side. Resting on his right elbow he looked at the witch next to him. Her tear-stained face was now calm and peaceful. Her fair skin was as smooth as porcelain. Looking at her full red lips and her ebony hair, Severus remembered the muggle fairytale that Lily once told him, and wondered if this was what Snow White would have looked if she was real. For an instant Severus thought he saw her eye lashes fluttered. But she was quiet again, apparently still deep in her sleep. Taking a deep breath, Severus felt his chest tightened.

Severus was not a stranger when it came to one-night stands. In fact, the sexual encounters that he had experienced should all be described as "one-night stands". It was never his intention to develop any long-term relationships with those witches he brought to his bedroom. He didn't need to try hard to avoid relationships, because any potential for a lasting companionship usually evaporated as soon as he began his snarly comments in the following morning. He didn't really care when the ladies left. He wasn't trying to impress them anyway.

Somehow he had a strange feeling in this particular morning. Looking at the witch next to him he felt lost. There was something about Olivia that bemused him. It wasn't her beauty, although no one could have denied that she simply looked gorgeous; it wasn't because of the fabulous sex, although Severus must admit he had never felt the kind of passion that they shared the night before. It was because there was something different about her. And because of that, the kisses, the touches, the sex, and everything they did together felt different.

For his entire life Severus hid his emotions, sometimes out of necessity, some other times out of habit. However, with Olivia, the attempt to conceal his feelings and emotions seemed impossible, and therefore unnecessary. Perhaps that was why he could dismiss his guards, relax his controls, and let his heart feel.

He couldn't say if what he felt was love. To be honest with himself, Severus didn't think his heart was capable of loving again since the day when Lily married Potter. Lily was the only friend that he had trusted, until Olivia Hamilton showed up in his life. If what he felt was not love, Severus wished it could be friendship. Or, could it someday become more?

The witch stirred again in her sleep. Her brows slightly furrowed as if something unpleasant was bothering her in her dream. And that reminded him of her words from the night before. "No promises... No obligations... No commitments." So that's what this was all about! Severus suddenly came to the realization. This was not up to him. She had already made the call. This was a one-night stand for her, no matter how he wanted to think of it.

With his eyes closed for a brief moment Severus frowned. He was a fool. Why didn't he see this coming? She was drunk, or at least, impaired. That had to be the reason why she wanted to do what they did the night before. She might be able to understand him, even forgive him for his mistakes from his earlier life, but that would still be far from caring for him the way he... Severus stumbled on his words in his thoughts. Did he really? Did he really care for her that much?

Thoroughly confused by his own internal turmoil, Severus quietly slipped out of bed. He wasn't sure what this was any more. He had to get out of here before she woke up, because he would not know how to reply to a simple "good morning" if she looked at him with those sparkling blue eyes. Quickly he put on his cloths and walked out of her bedroom. Standing next to the fireplace, he gave another backward glance towards her bedroom door. And then without a sound, he disappeared into the tall green flames.

* * *

Olivia opened her eyes when she heard him walking out of her bedroom. She had been awake for a while now. She could tell he was watching her, and could feel every emotion that went though his mind. When his chest tightened, her heart clinched.

It had been a long time since she last had a decent relationship. After hearing the news about Sirius' apparent crime, she couldn't trust her own judgment for years. For the longest time she wondered, if the man she loved so dearly was a murderer, what else could she have gotten wrong? When she finally locked away the memories of the days she spent with Sirius Black, she ventured out and started dating again. She dated a few, but was always the one who initiated the breakups. She eventually concluded that she was just not programmed to be in a relationship, just like her mother.

Her father had always commented that she took after her mother. Even though he had told her all he meant was that she took after his estranged wife's good looks, Olivia felt differently. Her mother left them when she was seven, because she could not accept the fact that her daughter was different. Olivia always thought that her father took care of her out of guilt, not out of love. And when he said she was just like her mother, Olivia knew he meant that she would grow up like her mother. She would grow up into a woman that would be irresponsible and hardhearted.

Her record as a serial "heart-breaker" seemed to have confirmed her predicament. However, she did not regret it much, because from most of the men she had dated, she never sensed the love that she did when she was with Sirius. These men, wizards or muggles, all seemed to be after only one thing, her body. She saw through it almost every time. And that gave her the excuse, the excuse to not feel sorry when she left them.

Severus Snape was quite different. She was surprised when she discovered how he felt about Lily. She thought that kind of heart-wrenching love only existed in stories, and had certainly not expected that kind of feelings from someone who was considered a cruel Death Eater, a spineless traitor, and a cold-blooded murderer. As soon as she sensed his emotions she had forgiven him, knowing he probably had his reasons for doing what he did. But it wasn't until when he told her all of his secrets did she begin to fall for him.

It was probably the liquor that gave her the courage, but she would not regret asking him to stay the night. When she realized what the night of passion had meant to him however, she became worried.

She didn't expect him to care for her. She didn't expect him to want to be her friend. And she certainly did not expect him to wish for something more than friendship. She had broken enough hearts, and did not want to hurt anyone again, especially not him, not Severus. But why? Why did she care for him so much? Could it be...?

She dared not look for the reason. All she knew was that she would run again if they went down that dangerous path, just like how she ran away from all of those ex-boyfriends, just like how she ran away from Sirius. Closing her eyes, she set her tears free, and cried.

* * *

It had been weeks since they spent their night together. Just as they had agreed, neither one mentioned a single word about it. It was at first a little awkward when they saw each other in the castle. She still managed to strike up some small conversations with him; however he noticed she would not look at him straight in the eye any more, much different from what she used to do. He would not complain about the lacks of eye contact, for he was unsure about his own ability to control the strange feelings inside of him. Those blue eyes... those beautiful blue eyes... Severus had found himself looking into them very frequently in his dreams.

Fortunately it was not too terribly hard for Severus to put his mind somewhere else. There were a lot of other things that were constantly on his mind. Dumbledore had instructed him to give Griffyndor's sword to Harry Potter. But just how exactly should he find a way to contact the boy, present a proper challenge, and deliver the sword seemed to be an impossible task. While he was glad to see the young wizard being smart enough to stay out of the Death Eater's traps, Severus became more and more frustrated with the task on hand.

Severus had also attended several meetings with Voldemort and his Death Eaters followers. The legislation that would soon be passed by the Ministry was especially concerning. The new rules and regulations would be catastrophic for the muggle-borns. Severus feared that most of them would either be murdered or sent to Azkaban. He wish he could warn the Order and have them spread the word. The muggle-borns would certainly have a better chance to survive if they could leave the country before the Ministry passes those new laws.

Severus stood watch by the window on the last day of school before the Christmas break. He did not sense any holiday cheer among the departing students. Some of them were crying while saying their goodbyes to their peers in the courtyard, for many knew they would not be returning after the holiday. Parents had become more and more concerned about the uncertainties at Hogwarts under the new Ministry's oversight. Many had already pulled their children out of the school during the term. Walking through the deserted corridor, Severus suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to visit one person, for one reason.

Olivia sighed as she looked at the sapphire pendant dangling down a silver chain on the neck of the woman in the mirror. It's almost Christmas, but it meant nothing to her. She had not been celebrating Christmas with her father's new family for years. She still received Christmas presents from her father, but she knew it was merely his way of thanking her for not showing up at his door. He had a normal family now: a normal muggle wife and two normal muggle sons. There simply was no room for a witch daughter in his normal muggle family.

She was startled when she heard a sudden knock on the door. Frowning slightly, she went to answer it. It was the Headmaster.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the unexpected guest. "What a surprise." She tilted her head to the side and asked casually, "May I help you?"

The Headmaster stared blankly at the witch. A moment later he said, "Perhaps. I would like to make you an offer."

She narrowed her eyes upon him, as if she couldn't comprehend the meaning of his words.

"I thought the proper etiquette in responding to a good faith offer would at least involve an invitation for a discussion behind the walls of the castle corridors." He voiced his opinion impassively.

She shrugged and opened the door a bit wider, and watched curiously as Severus walked passed her into the living room.

Watching him taking his seat in the sofa, Olivia sat down in the chair opposite him. "An offer?" She asked.

"Yes, indeed." He said quietly, in his smooth cool voice. "I will do it for you."

"Do what for me?" She frowned, "Perhaps you have forgotten, but I cannot read your mind."

He took a deep breath and said, "I will kill Bellatrix Lestrange for you."

"Why?" Her eyes widened. "What can you gain from it? Wouldn't that blow your cover?"

"That is not your concern." He answered quickly, "My secrets will be discovered sooner or later. It does not matter, and is not the point of this discussion. My offer is that I will kill her for you, and you will leave it with me to decide when and where. And if you don't trust me," He paused briefly and looked up at her expressionless face, "I am willing to make an unbreakable vow."

Severus noticed a small twitch in the corners of the witch's eyes. She stared at him intensely for a moment, before asking, "What do you want from me in return?"

"Leave." He did not need time to think before answering. "I want you to leave the country immediately and go back to where you came from. The Dark Lord's power cannot reach cross the ocean, at least not yet." He let out a sigh before saying again, "I want you to leave."

His dark eyes were met by a stern gaze from her cobalt blue ones. She stared at him for a few moments before asking in a strange cold voice, "Do you really... do you really want me to leave?"

Severus suddenly found it hard to breath. When he finally found his voice he said, "Yes, I do."

Wordlessly she walked next to the fireplace. With her back facing him she said, in a quiet but firm voice, "There is something you need to know about me, Severus." She began, "I don't do vows. Breakable or unbreakable, I just don't do them." she paused for a brief moment before continuing again, "I appreciate your offer. But the answer is no. Now would you please excuse me, but you know where the door is."

"I have to say you have a very strange way of expressing your appreciation." Severus snarled. "Do you realize how foolish it is for a muggle-born to stay among the Death Eaters? You will have no way out of this mess at the end. What are you going to do? Fly? Don't you realize the killing curse can catch up with those feathery wings of yours in no time?"

He watched as she took a deep breath, but she did not turn to look at him. "Good bye Severus." She said quietly.

Letting out a frustrating grunt, Severus walked through the room and opened the door. He wanted to say something but the words wouldn't come. Dropping his head in defeat, he walked out the door and disappeared into the gloomy corridors.

"Who do you think you are? You can't tell me what to do." She said to the fire, knowing there was no one in the room to hear her words.

* * *

The view from the astronomy tower was breathtaking. The world around it was a complete shade of gleaming white. The early winter snow had covered everything like a magical blanket. Everything seemed so very clean. Severus tugged on his cloak, trying to hold on to the warmth offered by the fabric in the blistering wind.

This was the day before Christmas. The castle was practically empty. Most of the students and teachers were gone. From where he stood, Severus could see Hagrid and Filch going about their daily chores around the castle and about the grounds. Other than those two however, the entire place was like a ghost town.

He knew there was one other professor who stayed behind, the muggle studies teacher. However, since their last conversation he had not seen her. Could it be possible that she changed her mind and left? He frowned at the thought, but quickly dismissed it. No, she would have at least left him a note if that was the case.

After observing the quiet grounds for a long time, Severus began to contemplate how he should spend this Christmas Eve. He had no family to return to. Even if his parents were still alive, he wasn't sure if he wanted to visit someone that only reminded him of his miserable childhood. He had no friends. Dumbledore was not going to rise from his grave to invite him over for a cup of tea. He wished he had a friend... a friend like... Lily.

He sighed as he remembered Lily. She was always so forgiving, so understanding, and so kind to him. He wondered what could have happened if he didn't make the terrible mistake of calling her a mudblood, and if he didn't make the rush decision and joined the Dark Lord. Could they at least stay friends? Could Potter and Black have been able to grow out of their adolescent immaturity and make peace with him? A million alternatives, only if he didn't do what he had done. Looking up at the darkening sky, Severus closed his eyes. He wanted to see her, one more time.

In a swirl of black smoke Severus arrived at the small cemetery in Godric's Hollow. The place was eerily quiet, with tomb stones standing silently like sleeping giants. Slowly wandering through the narrow paths between ancient families' resting places, Severus looked for the familiar tomb stone that he used to visit years ago before the Dark Lord returned.

Just as he turned the corner however, he heard footsteps coming from the edge of the cemetery. Instinctively, Severus hid behind a large marble tomb stone. As he slowly peeked around the cover, he could not believe his eyes: searching through the ancient old tomb stones, were Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

Severus' first reaction was to walk right up to the pair and warn them of danger of appearing in plain sight. Their carelessness was unbelievable. He would at least expect a better judgment from Granger. But then he hesitated. How would they react when they saw him? They didn't know, and wouldn't understand. To them, he betrayed the Order, he killed Dumbledore, and he was a Death Eater.

Sighing quietly Severus kept a watchful eye of the two from a distance. He watched the pair standing quietly in front of the Potters resting place, and placing a wreath in front of it. The place was still very quiet. But Severus sensed someone else' presence. They were all being watched.

Suddenly, a small dark figure emerged in the end of the country road. Severus followed quietly as Potter and Granger slowly approached the figure. He soon began to make out the person in the dark, a small framed old woman. And then he heard Harry asked, "Are you Bathilda?"

Bathilda? Severus frowned. Bathilda Bagshot? He remembered the conversation he overheard months ago between Pettigrew and Yaxley. How could the old woman still be well and alive if the Dark Lord wanted to get a hold of her so long ago? Realization hit him, this was a trap!

He sped up his footsteps to catch up with the three, and was getting more and more concerned as Potter and Granger followed the old woman into a small two-story cottage. When he came up to the front gate he heard Granger's voice. "Harry! Are you okay? What's happening upstairs?"

Just as he looked up towards the dim light coming out of the front room upstairs, he saw a familiar large brown falcon sailed through the sky and flew right through the window. Loud noise of furniture falling and the birds' screeching cry were accompanied by Granger's scream and Potter's yell.

"No! Olivia!" Severus let out a desperate cry. He raised his wand and blasted open the locked wrought iron gate. Running through the front yard, he swiftly kicked open the front door and ran straight towards the struggling noise upstairs.

When he finally ran through the dark hallway to the front room, he was shocked by the scene in front of him.

* * *

**_I would be lying if I said I didn't care about getting reviews. I do want some feedback on my character development. Thanks!_**


	9. Merry Christmas Severus

**_Thanks Missyick for your sweet notes! Also, thank you all for adding the story to your Favorites and Alerts! Your encouragement is greatly appreciated._**

**_Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it._**

* * *

**Chapter Nine - Merry Christmas Severus**

As Severus ran through the dark hallway leading to the front room, he heard Harry Potter crying out to his fellow Gryffindor, "He's coming, Hermione! He's coming!"

Severus did not need any further explanations. He immediately understood who the boy was referring to. Something must have gone wrong in the room and somehow had given away Potter's presence to Voldemort.

When he ran into the room, he was shocked by what was presented in front of him: the small framed old woman was nowhere to be found. Instead, Voldemort's giant snake was wrestling with the falcon. The falcon was considerably smaller comparing to the snake. However, the size difference did not stop her from having her talons sank deep into the snake's torso and her beak stabbing its body like a dagger. The snake was not at all prepared by the attack, and was twisting and turning violently. Giant waves of the snake's large thick trunk blocked the escape route of the dumbstruck Potter and Granger, who were trying desperately to find a way out.

When Severus' eyes met the young wizard's, he immediately recognized the threatening sparks. The boy felt nothing but hatred towards his former potions master. Just as Severus had predicted, the boy wasted no time before raising his wand and bellowed a curse at him. With a flick of his wrist Severus blocked it without much effort. He wished he had a few minutes to set the boy straight with the facts, but it didn't seem like they were allowed with such luxury.

Surveying the room quickly, Severus pointed his wand at the window and cried, "Confringo!"

Harry and Hermione were shocked by the explosion, not only by its powerful effect - a large hole that was three times as big as the window replaced half of the wall, presenting the darkening night in front of them; but also by Snape's apparent aim. Why didn't he aim at them? How could he possibly miss that bad?

"Go! Right now!" Severus yelled at the two Gryffindors.

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief. He opened his mouth but couldn't find the words. Instead, he just stood there and stared at the man who he had loathed for so long.

"What are you waiting for!" Severus called out to them again, "Get out of here! He's coming!"

"Come on Harry! This way!" Hermione seemed to be the first one that came to her senses. Half dragging and half pushing, she pulled the young wizard with her to the edge of the remainder of the room. With a soft pop, the two disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Severus felt fear rise in him as he turned his attention to the wrestling snake and the bird of prey. The snake seemed to have finally gotten the upper hand by taking the advantage of its giant size. It coiled its powerful truck tightly around the bird and left no room in its strong grip for the bird to spread her wings. The bird let out a screeching cry, but she would not let go of her grip of the snake. Severus pointed his wand at the snake as the snake's twirling body slowly closed its wrap around the bird. He dare not cast the killing curse however, fearing that the curse would also harm the falcon that was completely entangled with the snake.

Knowing he was running out of time, Severus called out, "Stupefy!"

The snake's body immediately stiffened and dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Very quickly, Severus rushed to the falcon's side and began to untangle the bird from the snake's stiff body. Within seconds he was able to free the bird from the snake's hold. The bird blinked at him a couple of times, and tried feebly to raise her wings without success.

Without a word Severus picked up the falcon in his arms. He could hear Voldemort's scream in the distance and took that as his cue. With a soft pop, he disapparated into the night, with his unlikely partner held tight in his arms.

* * *

Gently Severus stroked the feathers of the bird in his arms, hoping the warmth radiating from his fireplace would soon bring her back.

Severus was familiar with many kinds of human injuries. However, when it came to birds, he was not so sure. All he could do was to make the falcon comfortable, and hope that she will return to her human form soon and let him know how he could help her.

Slowly the bird opened her eyes and blinked at him. A moment later, Severus watched in amazement as the bird in his arms morphed into the woman that had distracted, intrigued, and infuriated him in the past few months.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, not allowing a single trace of emotion in his voice.

"I hate snakes." She answered.

"Are you capable of responding to a question with a straight answer?" He sneered.

She smiled weakly at him and said, "Thanks for getting me back."

Severus let out a sigh. He still didn't get his answer. "Can I get you anything? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so," she answered quietly, "I'm just exhausted. That damn snake almost choked me!"

When she looked around her she realized she was still lying in his arms. Without a word she tried to get up, but winced as she felt the weakness of her body.

"And it almost made a nice meal out of that falcon." Severus caught her as she lost her balance. "Stay right here. I need to make sure you don't have any internal bleeding or some injuries that you are too stubborn to tell me."

She fell quiet as he picked her up and took her to his bed, and had to admit that she was in no condition to walk around the castle. She was beyond tired. It had been a few miserable days. She flew around the country for days looking for Sirius's tomb, but could not find it. With a heavy heart, she stood in the blistering wind in front of Lily and Jame's resting place for hours, not knowing where she should go on the night before Christmas. Looking back, she was definitely not in a fit condition to get into a fierce battle with the giant snake. The fight cost her the last drop of energy.

His pillow smelt like him. It was a pleasant mixture of the scent of mint and sandalwood. The scent, just like the presence of him, made her feel safe. Drawing a deep breath she took in his scent, and closed her eyes. She no longer cared about anything else around her. Within seconds, she gave in to her exhaustion, and fell asleep.

* * *

Severus stood next to the bed and watched the sleeping witch in silence. Her breathing seemed to be even and calm. Maybe she was fine after all. Like she had said, she was just tired. But Severus would not take the chance and left her by herself, or at least he was going to stick to that excuse. He wanted to be with her, even if all he would do was to sit next to her and watched her sleep.

Quietly he conjured out a large wing back chair and placed it next to the bed. Leaning into the chair he kept his eyes on her. He wondered if it was some kind of spell she had put on him, because he just couldn't explain to himself why his self control was so weak around her, and why he longed for her company so very desperately.

He didn't realize when he had fallen asleep, when he had drifted away from his room, and when he had returned to that dark room in Godric's Hollow. He couldn't see anything else, other than the giant snake coiling its body tightly around a falcon. "Avada Kedavra!" He bellowed. A green light shot through his wand and hit the snake on its head. The snake's body dropped in a heap, revealing the bird with dark brown feathers.

To his absolute horror, Severus realized the bird was not moving. Picking her up gently, he desperately tried to but could not find her heartbeat. "No!" He cried. As if he spoke a spell, the bird in his arms suddenly turned into the witch he had grown to care for so deeply in the past few months. However, her eyes were closed and she was not moving. He touched her cheek and her skin was as cold as ice. "No! Olivia! No!" He cried out again, hugging her tighter in his arms. But she would not wake.

"See what you've done!" A cold high voice came from the dark, "You killed her! Just like Lily! You killed her too! You don't deserve to be loved Severus. No! You don't!"

"No! Olivia! No!" Severus heard himself screamed. He felt as if his heart was torn out of his chest. The pain... the anger... the sadness... he could not breath...

"Hey... Hey... Severus..." suddenly he felt a hand shaking his shoulder, and a soft voice calling his name, "you are having a bad dream! Wake up!"

He jerked awake and found himself greeted by her beautiful cobalt blue eyes. Her gaze was full of concern. He held her gaze for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "What time is it? Did I wake you? Are you alright?"

She smiled and shook her head at him, "I will not be able to provide you with any answers if you keep shooting questions at me three in a row!" Slowly she reached down to him and kissed him gently on his lips. "No, I don't know what time it is. And frankly, I don't' really care." She sat down on the edge of the bed, with the smile never leaving her face. "And yes, you did wake me up, yelling 'No! Olivia No!'. I thought for a second I did something wrong and that you were going to kick me out of bed."

Severus straightened himself up in the chair, still trying to shake off the nightmare and recover from the unexpected kiss.

"No offense, but that chair does not seem very comfortable. No wonder you had nightmares." She looked at the chair critically.

"The chair is fine." He grumbled.

"I've told you I'm perfectly fine. I wouldn't have agreed to stay if you told me you were going to give up your bed." She said quietly as she sent him another warm smile.

He frowned at her words and said, "I thought... I thought you would prefer..."

"I prefer to be next to you." She reached for his hand. "I feel better when I'm next to you."

He took her hand and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. She turned to look straight into his deep dark eyes. A few moments later she whispered, "Merry Christmas Severus."

"Merry Christmas." He answered quietly, before leaning over and kissed those deliciously soft lips. As soon as his lips touched hers he felt his emotions broke through the barriers that he had built around his heart. His heart suddenly could feel again. And he realized, just how much he wanted her, needed her, and... loved her.

Their kiss deepened as he tried to claim her with his lips. Tentatively his tongue brushed agaist her mouth. To his pleasant surprise she parted her lips and welcomed him eagerly. He slid his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. She straddled him with her long legs and hugged him around his neck. She ran her fingers through his smooth black hair and pulled him deeper into the kiss.

When they finally broke apart they were both panting for air. Looking at the witch in his arms, Severus frowned. "What is this, Olivia?" He asked in a husky voice, "What kind of relationship is this ?"

She opened her eyes and gave him a curious glance, "Why do you always have to ask so many questions? I don't know Severus. I don't know how to define what we have. Often times you won't know until it's ov..." She stopped abruptly at the last word, and reached over to kiss him again. This time she leaned into him and pushed him into the bed. "I don't want to... talk about this... right now... alright?" she whispered between placing gentle kisses all over his chin and his neck.

Severus sighed as he gave in to her touches, and felt the fire that had been growing inside of him slowly taking over. He could no longer sort out the logic. It was a war. Nobody knew what would happen tomorrow. Were those good enough reasons for whatever they were doing? He did not know. And for once, he decided he would listen to her, and would not go looking for the answers.

Looking into her darkening eyes he could see her desires. Answering her unspoken invitation, his long fingers joined hers to work on those annoying buttons on her silky blouse...

* * *

In the days following Christmas, no one was around in the castle to notice the amount of time the Headmaster spent in his private quarters. He didn't get out much at all, and had cancelled all of the housekeeping services from the castle house elves. Filch had suspected the Headmaster had left for his own vacation, but that was far from the truth.

The truth was that Severus and Olivia spent all those days behind his chamber doors, not talking about the past, not discussing the future, but only taking one day at a time, enjoying every minute of each others' company.

With a few waves of her wand, Olivia transformed Severus' quarters into a beach-side cottage, with the view of the ocean right outside his window. She set up a little tiki bar by the window, and served him mojitos and margaritas. Severus waited in his crisp white shirt as he watched the witch in her complete island attire skillfully handling a silver cocktail shaker.

"I almost failed my potions class," She confessed to him as she handed him a drink with a colorful paper umbrella perched on the side of the glass, "But I made good money as a bartender at a muggle night club for a few years back home."

She laughed as he looked at the liquid in the glass suspiciously before taking a cautious sip. "Not bad." He smirked, "Unfortunately it doesn't have any magical quality to it. So naturally, I will not pay for this."

She sat next to him and leaned against him casually, "Oh yeah? How do you know it doesn't have any magical quality? Wait until you have your third one!"

He forgot the drink in his hand as he looked at the witch next to him. The dynamics between the two seemed to have changed drastically in the past few days, ever since he agreed with her to spend the rest of the holiday break without talking about the past, the future, or the war.

She had been spending the nights with him in his quarters since Christmas. For some reasons unclear to him, the witch had suddenly decided to open up to him, and had been showing him her playful side that was previously hidden so well.

Slowly Severus put his glass of muggle cocktail on the table and turned his full attention to the witch next to him. Her prediction could not be more wrong that day, and he never got through even his first drink.

"You are an absolute distraction Miss Hamilton." He murmured as he caressed her. "And I take it back," He whispered in her ear as he lost himself in her touches, "the drink was magical... _you_ are magical."

* * *

Olivia let out a sigh as she looked at the dark hair wizard sleeping next to her. He seemed so young when he was asleep, so calm, and so relaxed. She should have known since the first night when she made him stay with her, that she had once again found love in her heart.

She could feel Severus' every emotion. She knew he cared for her. She sensed that he loved her. And she was baffled by how hard he tried to hide his feelings. She didn't realize how much she meant to him until she heard him crying out her name in his dream, and sensed those powerful emotions running through his heart before she woke him up.

She realized that his love was very different from Sirius'. Olivia and Sirius were both very young when they first fell in love. Their love was built on their young dreams. She remembered how Sirius was always so confident, thinking all the problems could be solved with a few spells and a wave of his wand. With Sirius, life was nothing but exciting. She remembered waking up everyday wondering what kind of adventure she would get into by riding with Sirius in his motorcycle. They were fearless; yet probably not very responsible. She wondered what life would have been if she had stayed and married him. How would they deal with all the challenges? How would he react if things did not turn out as smoothly as he had expected?

And Severus... Severus loved her in such a different way. He was so much more realistic about the situation they were in. She had concluded that he did not want to advance with his feelings because he did not want to tie her down to the war. He cared so much about her that he seemed to be willing to do whatever he could to keep her safe. He would have given everything up only if she would agree to leave and return to safety.

From the surface, Severus was cool and intimidating, confident to the degree of almost arrogant, yet he became a completely different person when it came to the relationship with her. He had been very careful and did not push for her response, as if so afraid that a simple rejection would cost him his only chance to be close to her. He knew she could feel his emotions, yet he had left it all in her control to decide if the feelings were reciprocal. He loved her in a way she didn't think a man would be willing to love. He would demand nothing from her.

She shivered as she recalled the moment when the snake's body enclosed on her. It was such a close call. At the time she almost thought that was going to be the last breath she would take. The experience made it clear to her: her life could end abruptly any day, anywhere.

Even though she didn't want to agree with him, Olivia knew Severus was right. If she continued on with her plan to revenge, it is highly unlikely she would be able to make through it alive. And what about him? Olivia could not think of any scenario that would allow Severus to make it through the war unharmed.

So there, the reality had presented the answer to Olivia. Perhaps for once this would for sure not evolve into any long-term commitment. On the contrary, the time they had together could end any day, out of anyone's control. If she missed the opportunity, Olivia realized, she might never have a chance to be with Severus again.

Gently Olivia reached over to the sleeping wizard's face and brushed aside a strand of his raven hair. His eye lids fluttered but he didn't open his eyes. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile as he caught her hand and planted a kiss in her palm.

Olivia felt a small cry caught in her chest. She could hardly breathe. She wished time could stop. She wished this night would never end.

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**_I thought I would let the story slow down a bit and let in a little fluff, and also allow some time for character development. I hope the pace work for you. Review please?_**


	10. Dumbledore's Plans

**_Thanks Missyick, PromiseMeCourage, SnapeBella415, and my anonymous guest for your reviews!  
_**

**_Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it._**

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**Chapter Ten - Dumbledore's Plans**

"Tonks! Where have you been? You had me worried!" Remus ran through the hallway and wrapped his arms tightly around his pregnant wife as soon as she walked in the door. "Where did you go?"

"Oh sweetheart! I'm so happy. Don't worry." Tonks tried hard but couldn't contain her excitement. "You won't believe this. I have great news! And you should go and spread the words through Potter Watch, right this minute!"

"What? What is it? Did you go to the doctor's? Are we having twins?" Remus couldn't help but smiling at his happy wife, not having a clue what made her so cheerful.

"No!" Tonks laughed, "I prefer one at a time. And no, I didn't go to the doctor's. And I think this is even a better news than twins. And...wait a minute..." She paused and frowned at her husband, "are you seriously thinking about making an announcement on the radio if we were having twins?"

"Why not?" Remus smiled sweetly.

Tonks' eyes widened and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh forget it..." Remus turned pink as he murmured, "Just tell me what happened, please. This suspense is killing me."

"Let me just tell you this... you won't believe this." Tonks followed her husband into their living-room, trying to catch her breath as Remus handed her a glass of water. "Right after you left for the full moon three days ago, I got a note from someone. In the note the person talked about how the Ministry is getting ready to pass the law next week on muggle-born registration requirements."

"But that's nothing new my love." Remus frowned, "Our source in the Ministry had passed the message out a while ago. And how could that possibly be any good news?"

"Oh let me finish!" Tonks was slightly out of breath but seemed to be too happy to be mad at her husband's interruption. "The note went on and said that there is this American contact who had just set up a connection for all of the muggle-born wizards and witches to use, so that they can temporarily go and stay there."

"Stay where? How? Who?" Remus was slightly alarmed.

"Go to the States!" Tonks' smile broadened as she went on, "Through this company called Sky Research Institute."

"You can't trust some random notes like that Tonks!" Remus got up from the sofa and began pacing the room, "How do you know it wasn't a trap?"

"Do you honestly think I am that daft? I am an auror for Merlin's sake!" Tonks shot her husband a disapproving glance, but another bright smile quickly spread across her face. "I didn't believe it at first either. But I wanted to see who was behind the note. So I went to investigate, undercover of course. I first went to the muggle embassy for America and asked them about the company. It turned out to be a legitimate business, and the contact information matched exactly to what they have on their magic list, the thing that they called the Internet. And then I contacted the company office through the embassy, and was put in touch with this lady named Beth. Long story short, she gave me more information about the plan to evacuate the muggle-borns. She had a funny way to call them though. She called them project scientists." Tonks paused for a second and had a sip of her water.

"I was going to wait for you to come home before doing anything about the information. I went to visit my parents yesterday and told them about the note and the lead. My dad was just about to go on a run because of the registration requirements. After he heard about this, he said he would rather try his luck with this lead than being sent to Azkaban. So we went back to the embassy together and called Beth on the telephone, except that it was not just a telephone, but a video phone. It's got a picture frame through which we could see each other. Next thing you know, the embassy got him some paperwork and a plane ticket paid by the company, and he left an hour later to the States!"

"No!" Remus' eyes widened, "I don't believe this! How do you know all of these are not some kind of trap? Where is your dad now? Could that be the Death Eaters' new trick to capture all the muggle-borns?"

"Didn't I tell you you wouldn't believe it? Relax would you? Please!" Tonks got up to her husband and dragged him back to the sofa. "I just went back to the embassy this afternoon, and I talked to my dad on the video phone. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. He said everything was perfect. He now has his own apartment in a city called Austin, living under a cover identity as a project scientist for that Sky Research Institute. He told me he would get in touch with the wizardry community there and get ready to set up some procedures from the receiving end. He said with that lady Beth's help he would soon be ready to take in however many people we can send him. Just think how many innocent people we can save through this arrangement. How cool is that!"

Remus' brows stayed furrowed as he took in all the information. A moment later he asked, "who delivered the note?"

"Oh that's the interesting part." Tonks frowned slightly, "The note wasn't signed. Not that I expected it to be of course. It was delivered by a hawk. I can understand why no one wants to deliver this kind of message with an owl. But a hawk? I haven't heard of anyone using that as a..."

"Are you sure that was a hawk?" Remus suddenly cut her off, "What did she look like?"

"She?" Tonks' eyes widened. "How do you tell if a bird is a girl or a boy? Is this some special abilities you have for being a werewolf?" Shaking her head slightly, Tonks went on, "Oh well, it's a pretty big bird, not terribly stocky though. It was really nimble when it flew through the kitchen window and landed on the table. It had long dark brown feathers, very wide wing span, and a very impressive beak. It's a beautiful bird I must say. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Oh no, not a problem, not a problem at all!" Remus let out a relieved sigh. For the first time that day, he was not worried any more; and for the first time in months, he was hopeful again. "By the way, that was not a hawk." He smiled at his slightly confused wife, "she's a falcon."

* * *

The silvery moonlight gently illuminated Hogwarts' lonely astronomy tower. The castle stood quietly in its shadow, like a sleeping giant, hiding his sorrow in the darkness of the night.

Atop the tower stood a tall and lean wizard, with his long cloak billowing in the early spring wind. All was quiet around him. Students, teachers, and magical creatures, had all submitted to their deep slumbers under the starless sky; except for him, the young headmaster of Hogwarts, the loyal guardian of the school, and the lonely warrior fighting a war of his own.

Just like many other nights in the past few weeks, Severus Snape stood quietly in the moonlight, waiting for a sign in the sky. A small smile came to the corners of his eyes as he watched the shadow of a pair of impressive wings sailed pass the pale moon. Slowly he raised his arms towards the sky. A few seconds later, a beautiful falcon landed gracefully on his forearm. Taking the bird with him, Severus quickly turned and left the tower. With his black cloak billowing behind him, he soon walked out of the silvery glow of the moonlight, and became a part of the darkness of the castle.

As soon as he climbed up the steps guarded by the stone gargoyles, the falcon flew off of his arm and turned into a black hair witch.

"Why are we in your office?" Olivia asked curiously. "It's getting quite late already."

"It wouldn't be this late if you came back sooner." Severus answered coolly. "I need to show you a list of new Death Eater recruits that I received this afternoon. My understanding is that some of them will try to get into the Order under cover. I want you to know who they are so you can warn the Order. Speaking of which, why did it take you so long to come back tonight?"

"I need to see if my tax dollars are working for me." The witch answered casually as she walked over the cupboard and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"And?" Severus watched her curiously.

"All is good." She sent him a quick smile. "The embassy is working hard. If anyone there is using their brain they might start considering investing in this little company in Austin Texas. Typically a sudden surge in hiring so many scientists can only indicate a new profitable product in the near future. But too bad," she let out a small chuckle, "the company is not public, and its owner is not interested in selling, either."

"Are you sure your can take in that many people?" This was a question that Severus had been wondering about since the day when he shared with Olivia his concerns for the safety of the muggle-born wizard and witches. He always thought she had offered her help a little too soon, and worried that she did not consider the consequences carefully.

"Positively." She answered casually as she sat down in the sofa. "My father gave me quite a bit of 'seed money' when he finally wanted me out of his life, out of guilt I'm sure. I often wonder if he would still be so generous if he knew how much I know about investing. I learned it from an ex..." She gave a slightly uncomfortable smile, "a venture capitalist. The money grew fast. And I have never been a big spender. So I started this company as a vehicle to control all the assets. The business is just a shell, doesn't do anything. It has quite a bit of capacity to absorb some people on the payroll."

"Big enough to absorb a few villages?" Severus narrow his eyes upon her.

"You have no idea." She smiled at him mischievously.

"You and your secrets!" He sighed as he turned his attention to the list on his desk, "Here is what I just learned today..."

She followed him to his desk. Just as he was about to go through the names however, he frowned suddenly as a sharp pain ran through his left arm.

"What is it?" She noticed the change in him.

"The Dark Lord is calling."

"At this hour? What could it be?" She was concerned.

"Not sure," he answered quietly, "but probably nothing alarming. He just returned from a trip abroad. Maybe he wants to talk about things."

"Talk about things?" she looked at him curiously, "with you?"

"He happens to value my opinions." Severus smiled bitterly. "Don't wait for me. You had a long day. I will see you in the morning at breakfast." He said as he walked towards the window, with her trailing behind. "And," he turned and raised a finger at her, "Do not follow me."

"But..." she began to protest.

"No." he answered sternly, looking straight into her clear blue eyes. Before she could say another word, he kissed her quickly on her lips, and left in a swirl of black smoke.

She let out a frustrated grunt and returned to his desk. The list he was going to show her was quite long. She recognized a couple of names as she recalled hearing them being mentioned as she perched on a tree branch outside Kingsley Shacklebolt's kitchen window. She quickly decided that the falcon would be delivering a note to the auror first thing in the morning.

Absentmindedly Olivia wandered in the headmaster's office. She flipped through a few books, and ran her fingers carefully through some of the silver instruments on the table. The office was quiet, even the portraits were asleep. She knew she should go back to her own room, but a part of her was worried about Severus. She had grown so attached to him that she wasn't sure if she could fall asleep without him by her side.

Letting out a sigh she sat down in his chair by the window. Gazing at the gibbous moon in the sky she thought about all the information that Severus' had shared with her. Severus had told her he was relieved to know that even the Dark Lord would not be able to penetrate her mind to discover her secrets. Apparently he was thrilled to have someone who he could share discussions with when staging his steps in the war. Being on his own had been a challenging task, because very often, even Dumbledore's portrait was not able to provide him with practical answers.

Dumbledore's portrait... Olivia frowned as she thought about the old wizard. Slowly she got up from the chair and walked to the portrait on the wall. "Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore? Professor?" She looked up at the old headmaster and called politely.

"Oh... hi there Miss Hamilton." The old wizard sounded surprised as if he was just woken from a doze.

"Hi Professor Dumbledore, sorry to wake you up." For some reason talking to the old wizard made Olivia feel as if she was a student at Hogwarts again. "But I was wondering... May I ask you a question?"

"You can certainly ask your question Olivia," the old wizard smiled warmly at the witch, "But I am not sure if I can provide you with any answers. My counsel here is provided only for Hogwarts' headmasters. And last time I checked, it was Severus Snape who currently held the honorable title. Has anything changed since my nap?"

"Um... no." Olivia frowned slightly. "But my question is about him, about Severus. Could you at least consider helping me?"

"Perhaps. I will try." Dumbledore answered, looked at the young witch curiously through his half-moon spectacles.

Olivia looked down at the floor briefly and considered her words. When she looked back up at the old headmaster there was strange coldness in her eyes, "Professor, why didn't you tell Severus anything about the horcruxes?"

The old headmaster's eyes widened, "I must say, Olivia, I am surprised by your question. Why did you ask?"

"I followed Severus when he went to leave Harry with Gryffindor's sword. After Severus left I stayed behind. I watched the boy and his friend destroyed a locket that they called a horcrux. I also followed them for a while afterwards and heard them talking about looking for the other horcruxes. I have been thinking about this since. It almost sounds like hunting and destroying the horcruxes is the most important part of the war. Why didn't you explain everything about that to Severus?" Her voice was stern as she asked her last question, sounded almost like she was not questioning, but accusing the old wizard of hiding the information.

"I cannot risk putting all my eggs in one basket." Dumbledore answered calmly, the friendly smile never left his face. "This particular information is not important for Severus. Why should I bother him with all the details? All he needs to know is in my plans that I have shared with him." The old wizard concluded his explanations with a small nod.

"The plans that you gave him, he told me about them." Olivia looked up at the wizard, "I have to say there are many big holes. For example, your plans didn't mention anything about how Severus should disclose his secret identity to the Order, and what kind of protection he would receive against the Dark Lord. Did you forget to give him the instructions."

"My dear child," Dumbledore sat back in his chair in the portrait and began to stroke his long beard with his long fingers. "I was only an ordinary wizard, not a seer. I do not know what will happen in the future."

"Are you telling me you don't have an exit strategy for your most loyal spy?" Feeling anger slowly rising in her chest, Olivia narrowed her eyes upon the old wizard's portrait.

"Unfortunately, there are always other priorities." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, the smile in his face seemed to have vanished. "And there will always be collateral damage."

"Collateral damage? How can you be so irresponsible!" Tears began to well up in Olivia's eyes. She raised her voice but never moved her eyes from the old wizard.

"Irresponsible? Why Olivia? This is a war! It is a war that we are all responsible for. Alas, forgive the old man's memory. I was mistaken. This is our war, not yours."

Olivia took a deep breath and tried to hold back her tears. "He..." she murmured, "Did he tell you what I said?"

"Yes," a small smile returned to Dumbledore's face, "He hasn't been sharing much of your discussions with me for quite a while now. But I do remember him telling me what you said to him when he first recognized you. He was confused. And I was merely here to listen." the old man said with a slightly apologetic tone. "And I must say, Olivia, from what Severus told me, you are a very smart young lady. You are absolutely right. This is not your war, and therefore should not become your burden. Do not let other people's fate bother you."

"But..." Olivia could almost feel her heart broken into pieces, "I don't understand! How can you not worry about him, not care for him? I thought you two were friends?"

"Yes indeed, we were friends, and still are! But why should I worry Olivia? I'll be perfectly happy on the day when Severus can join me in a portrait in this office. I will still be able to talk to him whenever I feel like chatting. In fact, it is even better that way, because I can offer him a lemon drop whenever I want."

"No!" Olivia almost screamed at the headmaster, "No! Severus will not become a portrait on the wall. Not for a very long time!"

"Why do you care so much my child?" Dumbledore was still smiling at Olivia, however there was a cold sparkle twinkling in his eyes, "If you are seeking my advice, may I suggest that you do not get too attached to the young headmaster? You have assessed the situation very well. You know he is fighting an uphill battle. You and I both know the end of his road will not be blue birds singing over the rainbow. You have your plans, don't you? If I were you," Dumbledore leaned back into his chair, "I would leave this place as soon as I accomplish my goal. You have a comfortable life waiting for you back home, Olivia. Have you forgotten?"

"How could you be so cold?" Tears ran down Olivia's cheeks as she stared at the old wizard's portrait.

"I am a portrait Olivia. It is that simple." The old man smiled kindly as the young witch stormed out of the headmaster's office.

"My my my..." Phineas Nigellus Black sniggered as soon as Olivia slammed the office door behind her. "I thought cunning is a quality belongs to the Slytherines. I have to say, Dumbledore, I never would have guessed you could pull something like that with a straight face."

"You are too kind Phineas," Dumbledore chuckled, "Cunning is not a property belongs exclusively to the Slytherines."

"You think she fell for it?" Phineas Black glanced at his neighbor curiously.

"I think I set her straight." Dumbledore smiled as he stroke his long beard in his chair. "By the time she sees through my old tricks, she should have already made the right decisions."

* * *

Later that night, Olivia found herself wide awake staring at the top of her four-poster. Every time when she closed her eyes she saw the twinkles behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles. Many years ago she loved those twinkles, and adored the old wizard's humor and quick wits. After their conversion in that evening however, she shivered as she thought of those twinkles.

Tears drops soaked her pillow as she replayed Dumbledore's words again and again in her head. He was merely repeating her own words, wasn't he? Should she listen to the old man and leave after her revenge? No! If there was anything she should learn from having to go through the revenge, it was knowing that she made a terrible mistake a very long time ago. For that kind of mistake, once a life time was more than enough.

When she finally closed her eyes and gave in to the night she made up her mind. She would not make the same mistake again. There had to be another way for him to be safe. And she would be there to make sure of that.

In a different corner of the castle, the old wizard welcomed the young headmaster arriving through the window in a swirl of black smoke. "How are you Severus?"

"Still alive. I don't have much to complain, Dumbledore." After a quick glance at the documents on his desk one last time, Severus turned to leave his office. Right before he stepped out of the door he turned and asked, "How was everything here? Is there anything we need to talk about before I leave?"

"No." Dumbledore smiled kindly at his young friend, "There was nothing out of the ordinary when you were gone. Good night Severus."

* * *

_**I always thought Dumbledore was manipulative, and expect his portrait to have the same quality. Review please?**_


	11. The Argument

**_Thank you my friends for your reviews! Also, thank you all for following the story. Knowing the story has such a wonderful audience really motivates me._**

**_Sorry about the long delay. We just spent a couple of weeks in Maui for vacation. What a beautiful island that is. I have to confess, it was difficult to write serious drama in paradise._**

**_Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it._**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven - The Argument**

Olivia was just putting away a muggle camera after her last class in the afternoon when she heard a loud pop in the classroom. A house elf with big black eyes and big grey ears bounced to her side.

"Professor Macmillan," Dobby the house elf greeted her politely, "Professor, the Headmaster sent Dobby to find Professor Macmillan. Headmaster would like to see Professor in the Headmaster's office right away."

"Thank you Dobby." the witch gave the house elf a small smile.

Dobby didn't know this new teacher well, except that he knew from his quiet observation that the headmaster considered her a special friend. The house elf had known about Snape's true allegiance since he listened in on a discussion concerning Harry Potter between Dumbledore's portrait and Severus. Since that day, Dobby had always been ecstatic every time when the young headmaster called upon his service, hoping that he could do something for his favorite wizard, Harry Potter.

As a house elf, Dobby possessed many powerful magical abilities. However, being a house elf, Dobby also had a bit of trouble understanding the war among the wizards and witches. From what he could see, there was really nothing different among the wizards, pure blood or not. Naturally, he couldn't comprehend all the fusses about a wizard's family heritage. All Dobby could tell was that there were two sorts of wizards: the sort that were kind to him, like Harry Potter; and the sort that were not, like Lucius Malfoy.

The little creature thought for a long time trying to decide if it would be right for a free elf to participate in a war that belonged only to the wizards and witches. After all, he was still getting used to the idea of freedom. Would taking sides in someone else's war be acceptable for a free elf? Dobby wished Harry Potter had told him what to do. Harry Potter! Dobby suddenly found the answer he was looking for: maybe it would not matter whose side he should take. All he should do was to help his favorite wizard, Harry Potter; by extension, Dobby had concluded, he would happily lend a hand to whoever that had Harry Potter's best interest at heart.

"Professor..." the house elf eyed the witch timidly, wondering if he could extend his trust in the headmaster to the witch.

"What is it Dobby?" Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Does Professor think this has anything to do with Harry Potter?" Dobby decided to ask a relatively neutral question.

"I have no idea Dobby. But I will let you know if there is anything you can do to help Harry Potter, okay? Thanks for the message." Olivia smiled at the house elf, her senses made it perfectly clear to her just what exactly the gentle creature was trying to ask. The house elf's grayish face wrinkled with a relieved smile as he nodded eagerly.

Olivia didn't say anything more to the house elf. However, as soon as she heard the message she knew something was wrong. In the past few months, she had developed a daily routine with Severus. They had kept their relationship completely professional during the day, not sharing one extra conversation in public if it was not absolutely necessary. Their own discussions were always kept at night, after they met for dinner in the Great Hall. She knew she would see him soon for dinner. Why couldn't he wait just a little longer?

She sensed his strong emotions as soon as she walked past the gargoyles guarding his office. When he saw her however, he did not say a word.

The dark-hair wizard was sitting behind his desk, with his brows twisted in a knot. He had a glass of firewhiskey in his hand, but was not drinking from it. For a few times he looked up at at the witch, as if wanted to say something. But he quickly swallowed his words and looked back down at his glass of liquor. He was considering his words carefully.

Knowing Severus, Olivia understood there would be no point rushing the wizard when he was brooding. Quietly the witch took the seat opposite the headmaster's desk. Leaning back into the seat, she watched him curiously and waited.

"I'm glad the house elf was still able to find you in this castle Professor Macmillan." After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, he finally greeted her coldly. "What a surprise. I thought you would ignore my request all together."

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had not been using her cover name in private since the day when he recognize who she actually was; and his question confused her. She decided to play along and see what he was attempting to do, "Professor Snape is speaking in riddles today. When have I ignored the headmaster? I was in my classroom. Why made you think I was not in the castle?"

"What do I know, Professor?" He snarled coolly, "As far as I can tell, you have a mind of your own and anything I say seems to mean very little to you."

Olivia was taken aback by Severus' words. She had expected Severus to explain to her whatever that was bothering him, and was prepared to help him come up with some kind of solution to the problem. His words made no sense to her; and to add to the confusion, her senses picked up some very complicated emotions from him: anger, fear, guilt, and if she was not mistaken, heartache. What was going on?

Never shifted his gaze away from the witch in front of him, Severus went on darkly, "Apparently I am the last one to know your secrets. Oh, but never mind, why do I have to sound so surprised? I guess I am in no position to inquire about your private life."

"My private life?" Olivia's eyes widened. After all, he WAS her private life; and he knew just about everything in her life, well, just about... everything... She thought for a brief moment and looked back at him cautiously before asking, "could the headmaster enlighten me with the information he is referring to? I am all ears if you want to vent your frustration but I have no idea..."

"What are you not telling me?" He cut her off. "What have you been doing at night when you were out?" He leaned towards her from behind his desk. "All those nights, when you spread your wings under the moon enjoying your precious freedom."

"Oh that," she smiled sweetly, hoping her worries were unnecessary. "You can't possibly be mad at me for trying to keep up with my cover. I have been visiting representatives from various foreign wizardry communities, as the Dark Lord had requested. I should thank you for your recommendation of course. I have to say I am glad the Dark Lord had decided I will not be teaching next year. I will sure enjoy some actions helping out at the Ministry's international branch..."

"My recommendation..." He cut her off again and sneered, "indeed. Thank you for reminding me that I am responsible for the downfall of your moral integrity."

"Hey hey hey... where did your sense of humor go?" She frowned and quickly brought back the smile, "That's not what I meant! I was just trying to explain to you why I had to go visit those people at night, getting prepared for my next 'assignment' by the Dark Lord. I thought we talked about all that already. Didn't we even discussed how we can use the opportunity connecting the Order with some useful resources?"

"But that's not what you have been doing. Do not lie to me." Severus narrowed his eyes upon the witch. His voice was intimidating.

Olivia blinked at the wizard in front of her a few times before looking down at her nails. "It sounds like you know already. Well, you must understand, I did not mean for it to be a lie to you." Olivia let out a sigh but did not seem to be concerned by the accusation. "It's really not a big deal, Severus." She went on, yet the playful tune suddenly disappeared, "Those are good practice opportunities. And I have it all under control."

"You call that under control?" He got up from his chair behind his desk and began to pace the room. "Then explain to me why Amycus Carrow delivered this warning from the Dark Lord about an unknown assassin acting alone at night. Apparently this assassin always has accurate information about Death Eaters' social venues. The latest killing of Dolohov really got his attention."

"Please calm down Severus." The witch gave an uneasy smile, hoping to downplay the issue, "It can easily be explained as some capable witch or wizard from the Order acting for their cause. Everyone would draw the same conclusion. Why do you have to think differently?"

"That's because there is more to the warning!" He suddenly stopped pacing and walked right to her, "He knows! He knows about a hawk-like bird. He saw you through his snake's eyes when you saved Potter's neck Olivia. And now some witnesses had reported seeing a large bird leaving the scene every time when a death eater was killed. He knows!"

"He knows nothing!" Olivia shot back. "A bird? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? How far can he go with that kind of information? Are they going to kill every hawk-like bird in the sky every time they see one?"

"Yes!" Severus bellowed, "They can definitely do that! But that is not the point Olivia. Why are you doing this? What are you doing out there killing Death Eaters by yourself? Since when have you become an assassin? Is this some kind off sick entertainment that you have recently developed?"

"How dare you accusing me like that Severus Snape!" Olivia raised her voice too. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself down before continuing, "I never sent curses behind anyone's back, not even a death eater. Each of them was presented with a fair opportunity of a proper dueling. Their skills failed them. They had their own wands to blame. Does that make you happy now?"

"No!" Severus' lips were pressed hard into a thin line. "That makes everything worse. Are you telling me that one of those nights you might not have been able to make it back? And I was supposed to be kept in the dark forever about just why my..." he stopped in mid-sentence briefly before continuing, "my Professor of Muggle Studies disappeared without a notice? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I always came back Severus." Olivia answered calmly, "As far as why I haven't told you... let me ask you this, would you not stop me if I had told you earlier?"

Severus stared at the witch dangerously, not speaking a word.

"Don't you see?" Olivia's voice softened as she tried to reason with the man before her, "The Order is useless right now. They can't get anything done even with me delivering all the detail information to them. Someone has to do this. These death eaters have to go!"

"But that is none of your business!" Severus said sternly, "That is not what we had talked about. That is not your role in this war. This is not our plan! Dumbledore's plans do not include any assassinations!"

"Do not talk to me about Dumbledore and his stupid plans!" Olivia was beyond angry when she heard Dombledore's name. She remembered her brief discussion with the portrait of the old wizard. Hearing Severus mentioning Dumbledore like a loyal follower made her sick to the stomach. "Dumbledore has been using you! He never cared about you! He never tried to protect you! His plans will not work for you at the end! Can't you see that?" She said angrily.

"Everyone has a place in the war. I don't mind giving my share. And I don't care how this ends!" Severus retorted.

"Maybe you don't care about your own life, Severus Snape. But somebody else happens to care!" Olivia shot back. "Why do you have to be the one getting stuck here? This is so not fair! Other than delivering some stupid messages, you never let me do anything else! You can use my help! One less death eater means one less threat to you. What is wrong with that?"

"You can be killed when you were out there dueling the death eaters. That's what is wrong!" Severus bellowed.

He had repeatedly asked her to leave because he did not want her hurt in this war. He only stopped pestering her about leaving recently because she seemed to be content with not participating in any dangerous activities, other than delivering a few messages to the Order members. Now that she had confessed to him about her evening outings however, Severus realized his biggest fear had already come true: she was indeed risking her life in the war, and apparently, for him.

"This is not your war Olivia." Severus took a deep breath and began, "I am not Sirius Black. I have never, and will never ask you to stay and fight in this war. I know you are here to revenge for him, and you will probably kill me right here right now if I attempt to stop you from killing Bellatrix Lestrange. But one suicidal attempt is all I can take. I cannot see you put yourself in such danger. Why can't you stay clear from danger? Why can't you just... just... stay away?"

"Why? You are asking me why?" Olivia could feel her tears swelling up in her eyes, but she couldn't do anything to control herself as a wave of sadness overwhelmed her. She had been dealing with an internal battle for weeks. A part of her was convinced that she loved the man yelling in front of her; but the other part of her was terrified. She could be brave enough to venture out in the darkness and start a duel with any powerful death eater; but when she was back in the same room with Severus, she was terrified by the feelings in her heart. Was she really ready for such a commitment that she had tried to stay clear from in her entire life?

"I... I just can't..." She let her tears fall and tried to answer between her sobs. "I did try Severus. I did try to stay away, and I did try to care less. Trust me. I tried! But I just can't!"

Severus felt a lump forming in his throat. Was this her way of telling him how much she cared for him? Did she understand how much she meant for him? He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her and how much he wanted to be with her. But that would not be right, he reminded himself. He wanted her safe. And safety was nowhere near where Severus Snape would be. What should he do? Severus was at a complete loss for words. So he stood silently in front of her, watching her cry, and feeling his heart breaking into pieces.

Suddenly, a small warning yelp come from the fireplace, "incoming floo Headmaster!" the flames danced with great urgency.

Frowning slightly Severus turned his attention to the fireplace. He had his office secured with many charms and spells as soon as he was appointed headmaster. Olivia had made fun of his Slytherin paranoia when she first discovered the hidden spells; but Severus knew the importance of such preventative measure, especially for situations like this.

Shooting Olivia a stern glance, Severus walked towards the fireplace, just in time to see Lucius Malfoy sticking his head through the flames, looking eagerly around for his headmaster friend.

"Lucius," Severus greeted the silver-hair wizard impassively, "Are you here to relay the Dark Lord's warning? If that's the case it will not be necessary. Carrow had already informed me."

"What warning message?" Malfoy frowned at Snape, "Whatever that is it does not matter right now. No Severus, I'm not here to deliver any messages. I need your help! I have Harry Potter! Right here! In my cellar! I need to inform the Dark Lord. But my blasted sister-in-law suddenly got all anxious when she saw a knife carried by Potter's little lady friend. This is my only chance Severus. This is my only chance to reclaim my place within the Dark Lord's ranks. You have to come and help me deal with this lunatic!"

"Are you certain you have Potter?" Severus' senses were suddenly on high alert. He must think of a solution, quickly.

"Yes!" it sounded as if Malfoy was beginning to panic. "I don't know what that mad woman is going to do next. She can't take all the credit from me. Will you be able to come help me?"

"Certainly." Severus answered curtly, "I will be there shortly. In the meantime," he walked closer to the fireplace and looked at Malfoy's face intensely, "Do not alarm the Dark Lord or do anything too hastily. Wait for me to come sort out Madame Lestrange's concerns."

Waited after Malfoy's face disappeared from the floo, Severus called into the room, "Dobby!"

With a loud pop, the house elf bounced happily to the headmaster's side.

"Here comes your lucky day Dobby." Severus sneered, "I don't understand what kind of star power that Potter boy possessed; but obviously you have a bad case of worshiping that dunderhead. Tell him he needs to thank his lucky star for having you sticking around."

"What does the Headmaster want Dobby to do?" The house elf was slightly confused by the headmaster's words.

Severus let out a sigh and said, "Harry Potter needs your help."

"Really?" The ears of the house elf perked up in excitement. "How can Dobby help Headmaster?"

Severus frowned at the little creature by his side briefly before replying, "Potter is in the cellar of the Malfoy Manor. I am sure you know the way there."

The house elf nodded excitedly, and looked at the headmaster intently for the instructions.

"What are you staring at me for?" a moment past and Severus snarled at the house elf, "Time is wasted. Get moving!"

Dobby's eyes widened in surprise. Without another word, he disappeared in a loud pop.

Slowly Severus turned around, and found Olivia standing quietly in front of him.

The witch had returned to her calm and cool self. The tears in her eyes were gone, replaced by a chilling coldness.

"I heard what he said." She said plainly, with an edge palpable in her voice. "She is waiting for me."

Letting out a sigh, Severus considered his words, trying to convince her to stay.

"No." She stopped him before he could start. "You said it yourself, I would kill you if you stop me from doing this. I am going there now. You are welcome to tag along if you like."

Grunting some inaudible words to himself, Severus called out to her, "Wait, just one word before we go."

"And what may that be Professor Snape?" Olivia answered coolly.

"Please don't do anything stupid." Severus replied darkly.

Olivia did not answer. Instead she gave him a small smile that could melt away all his worries. But before he could burn the image into his mind, the beautiful dark hair witch disappeared in front of his eyes, as a large falcon spread her wings before him and sailed through the window. In an instant, a swirl of black smoke flew out of the headmaster's office. No matter what Olivia was going to do next, Severus would be there by her side.

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_**By the way, I will try to update again later this week, to make up for the delay last two weeks. Stay tuned.**_


	12. The Duel at Malfoy Manor

**_Thanks grumpirah and Missyick for your reviews! Your words made my heart swell._**

**_Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. _**

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**Chapter Twelve - The Duel at Malfoy Manor**

Without a single backward glance Severus Snape strode into the courtyard of the impressive Malfoy Manor. Knowing Olivia was right behind him, he spoke in a low but stern voice, "Let me assess the situation first before you do whatever you need to do."

A quiet "Fine" was her simple reply.

The scene inside of Malfoy Manor was quite unexpected when Severus and Olivia entered the great hall. On one side of the room, they found Narcissa scurried to help Draco back on his feet. Close by, Lucius Malfoy was lying flat on his back in a corner, apparently stunned. On the opposite end of the room, two young wizards, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, had their wands pointed at Narcissa and someone else in the other side of the room. Harry and Ron appeared to be stuck however, as neither one seemed to know what to do next.

The two young wizards were startled upon seeing the visitors. Ron quickly pointed his wand towards Snape. His companion however seemed to have a different idea. Harry took a quick side step towards Ron and whispered, "Don't do anything, not until we get Hermione back."

Harry's words seemed to have reminded Ron of his priorities. The red-headed wizard quickly turned his attention towards another corner of the room. Following Weasley's fearful gaze, Severus found Bellatrix Lestrange pointing a dagger at the throat of an unconscious Hermione Granger. Sitting on the floor between the witch and the two boys, was a wounded goblin holding Gryffindor's sword tightly in his arms.

"Snape?" Bellatrix called out in surprise. When she looked over Snape's shoulders she frowned, not liking the idea that two more death eaters had come to compete with her for her prizes. "and Macmillan? What are you two doing here?"

Sending Potter a dangerous glance, Severus subtly sent the young wizard a warning. Noticing the recognition from the Potter's eyes, Severus turned his attention to the witch with unruly black hair. "Lucius had informed me of your dilemma, Madame Lestrange. I came here to see if I could provide you with any assistance." He answered coolly.

"You should be the last one that I would call for help, Snape." the witch snarled, "But alright, since you are here, take a look at this sword and tell me why I should not be alarmed!"

Severus took a quick glance over the goblin and the sword before giving the witch a small smile, "A nice replica I have to admit." He took a few steps and walked by the goblin. Instead of picking up the sword however, he turned his attention to the other side of the room and addressed Narcissa, "Take Draco and Lucius to the meeting room Narcissa. We have it all under control here."

Nodding carefully Narcissa rushed to the side of her husband. With her son's help, they carried the older wizard into a room off the great hall and closed the door behind them. Raising his wand quickly, Severus cast a silencing charm around the door and sealed the entrance to the room.

"What are you doing?" Bellatrix asked in surprise.

"I have some information to relay to you. And it should not concern the Malfoys." Severus simply answered.

"What is it? Is it from the Dark Lord?" The witch began to sound concerned.

Severus did not answer right away. Instead he looked at the young witch in Bellatrix's hold and gestured towards Hermione, "she holds the key to all the answers."

"I knew it!" Bellatrix laughed, "I knew this little mudblood was keeping secrets. But she wouldn't tell me the truth. You don't happen to have some Vertiserum on you Snape?"

"Unfortunately," Severus shook his head, "Lucius did not inform me of such needs. But of course," he took another few steps towards Bellatrix, "there is always more than one solution to a problem."

"What do you suggest?" Bellatrix asked impatiently.

"Legilimency, of course." Severus answered plainly.

The witch let out a cold laugh, "I should have guessed, of course you would suggest something that cannot be done right away. This filthy girl couldn't stand my cruciatus curse, unless you have a way to slap her back to consciousness?"

"That would not be necessary. Her mind is still wide open even if her eyes are not." Severus stated coolly.

The witch frowned at his answered. "You are not the only one who knows legilimency, Snape. I would have tried that if it works." She spat.

"I don't want to sound condescending," Severus looked at the witch arrogantly, "however you left me with no choice. May I point out to you that our abilities in legilimency are really on two completely different levels? Hand over the girl and I will demonstrate."

Bellatrix looked at the wizard in front of her cautiously, eyeing the two young wizards in the room.

"There is no need to worry about those two." Severus held out his arm requesting the delivery of the young witch. "They would not dare moving a muscle when their precious friend is in my hand."

Slowly Bellatrix moved her dagger away from Hermione's throat and let go of her. Swiftly Severus caught the young witch's limp body before she fell to the floor. With the girl in his arms, Severus began to walk away from Bellatrix.

"What are you doing?" the witch screamed after him, "Where are you taking her?"

"Taking her to where she belongs." Severus answered quietly, continuing his walk towards Harry and Ron.

Just before Bellatrix was about to go after him, a woman's cold stern voice caught everyone's attention. "Why Bellatrix? This is a bit too much drama, don't you think?"

Bellatrix had almost forgotten about the existence of the other witch in the room. She had considered Macmillan a submissive assistant following Snape around. And she certainly did not appreciate the tone the witch was using while speaking to her.

"I don't have time for you Macmillan. Know you place." Bellatrix glared at the witch dangerously.

"Oh yes. I know my place perfectly well." Olivia walked into the center of the room and stood in front of Bellatrix. "It is you, however, that I am afraid is out of touch with reality."

"You don't know what you are talking about Macmillan." Bellatrix challenged.

"First thing first, let me explain." Olivia began in a calm and clear voice, "There is no Macmillan in this room. My name is Olivia Hamilton. Since the first day when I arrived in this country, I have been waiting for a time like this to speak to you alone. I have to admit, Madame Lestrange, it has been difficult to set up a private appointment with you."

"The Dark Lord told me about you. This is not a time for idol worship. I can care less about your name and your admiration. Get out of my way." Bellatrix sneered.

Olivia smiled and let out a small sigh, "See how out of touch you are? Do you really think I am after your autograph? No no no... I am only after one thing, your life."

"What?" Bellatrix gasped, "Snape! What is she talking about?" When she looked over towards Severus she realized he was just handing the young witch over to the red-headed wizard. Bellatrix's eyes widened and she screamed, "Snape! Just what do you think you are doing?" Cursing under her breath, Bellatrix threw her dagger straight towards Severus' back.

A bright light hit the dagger in mid-air. As the knife broke into pieces, Bellatrix turned and followed the light to its source: it was a slender wand held gracefully between Olivia's delicate fingers.

"Tut tut tut, it certainly is a challenge to keep your attention, Madame Lestrange. It's me that was talking to you, not them." Olivia began to pace before Bellatrix, effectively blocking her way to Severus and the others. Never moving her gaze away from her target, Olivia continued, "I said _alone_. That means you and me, the two of us, with no one else's involvement."

"What exactly do you want?" Bellatrix finally recognized the threat before her.

"Well you see," Olivia smiled coldly at the witch, "I am here to collect a debt that can only be repaid by you with your life."

"What for?" Bellatrix screamed, staring at Olivia's wand in shock.

"For your killing of your own nephew, and a dear friend of mine, Sirius Black."

Bellatrix let out a maniacal laugh upon hearing the name. "Him? The weakest branch of the prestigious family tree of the Blacks? It was my responsibility to maintain the purity of our blood line. He chose his own death by befriending the filthy mudbloods. What a surprise! The blood traitor has a revenger! But don't you worry; I would love to kill another blood traitor, or whatever you are!" The witch brushed aside her unruly hair, "Come closer witch, I will kill you with my two bare hands."

"Oh no no no, not like that. Cat fights are too immature," Olivia shook her head dismissively, "and too barbaric. Wand out Bellatrix. We will duel properly."

"Ask those filthy blood traitors over there to give it back then. But I really don't need it witch. Your delicate neck doesn't seem to be hard to break." Bellatrix snarled dangerously. "Why? Are you afraid of me?"

"Afraid? Afraid of you?" Olivia looked at the witch in amusement, "Give me a break." She quickly walked over to Harry's side and looked at the dumbfounded young wizard right in the eye, "Give me her wand, please."

"No Olivia." Severus stepped forward with a warning.

"We went over this already." Olivia held out a finger at Severus and said sternly, "You. Will. Stay. Out. Of. This."

Harry Potter couldn't even begin to process what was unfolding before his eyes. Since his encounter with Snape at Godric's Hollow, Harry had been wondering why Snape would want to save his life. Even though he still did not trust the wizard, he had unwillingly come to the conclusion that for whatever reason, Snape might be on his side, at least temporarily. That was why he did not attempt to attack the wizard when Snape first walked into Malfoy Manor. He was happy about his decision when he watched as Severus tricked Bellatrix Lestrange and brought Hermione back to their side.

The appearance of the unknown witch and her mentioning of his god father's name however was completely incomprehensible for Harry. Sirius had never mentioned a witch named Olivia Hamilton, neither had Remus or Dumbledore. Harry didn't know what to do when the witch held out her hand and asked for Bellatrix's wand. He looked at Snape briefly; and for the first time, Harry was sincerely hoping for some advice from Snape.

But the witch in front of him did not have the patience. Olivia promptly spotted the wand with a slight bend in Harry's hand. "Aha, there it is." She said casually, as if finding a misplaced piece of unimportant object while looking around the house. "Excuuuse me." She quickly picked up the wand, walking away in a sing-song voice.

Ignoring Severus' piercing gaze, Olivia walked over towards Bellatrix. When she passed by the goblin on the floor she said plainly, "I would get out of the way if I were you. I think the corner over there should work just fine."

The goblin did not need another reminder, and hurried over to a corner and hid behind a column.

Back to the center of the room Olivia smiled coldly at Bellatrix. "Shall we?"

As soon as her wand reached her fingers Bellatrix fired a wave of curses and jinx at Olivia, yet none of her moves surprised her opponent. Olivia Hamilton quickly blocked them all without even moving her wand much. Severus watched in amazement as Olivia quickly turned from defending to offending.

Severus had always assumed that Olivia had limited experience in dueling. After all, she did confess to him not too long ago that she had never killed anyone until recently. Her confident and skillful performance caught him completely by surprise. With a perfect form, the blue-eye witch waved her wand effortlessly like a baton in an orchestra conductor's hand. The sparks of jinx and curses that she sent towards her enemy lit up the great hall like the most amazing firework in a clear summer night sky.

At the beginning of the dueling, Bellatrix Lestrange was laughing and screaming like a wild beast. But within minutes, she quickly realized the strength of her opponent, and her worries soon became apparent as she lost her maniacal cries. She found a small break in Olivia's attack and aimed a powerful curse at the witch's chest; but she was terribly disappointed as Olivia blocked it with a twist of her wrist.

From the corner of her eye Olivia saw Severus holding up his wand. "No! She's mine." She called out to the wizard. In a mind-blowing speed Olivia threw a protective charm backwards and effectively shielded Severus. Not wasting another second, she pointed her wand back to Bellatrix and sent out her final strike. Bellatrix Lestrange let out a scream, and quickly crumbled into a pile of dust.

Silence returned to the great hall. Quietly Olivia walked towards the place where the evil witch stood a few seconds ago, and picked up the last evidence of her existence, Bellatrix's slightly bent wand. With her back still facing Severus and the others, Olivia let out a sigh. This was it. She had done it. She did what she had promised to do when she stood under the silver moon the night when she first set foot on the continent. This was the first promise she had ever kept in her entire life. But why didn't it make her feel better? Indeed, it was not hard to end a life, yet it was forever impossible to bring one back.

Slowly she turned around and met Severus' concerning gaze. The corners of her lips curled up slightly and she gave him a small smile. And then her attention turned to the young wizard next to him.

"Yes, friendship. That should be a fine way to describe what I am to you. You can think of me as a family friend." She smiled at Harry, who was now staring at her, not understanding how she would know what he was thinking in his head. She exchanged a polite nod with Ron and continued, "I was a good friend of Sirius', as well as your parents'. Sorry I didn't come to meet you sooner. There had been some misunderstanding. But I am very glad to finally meet you Harry."

Severus rolled his eyes as he watched Harry continue staring at the witch, not able to grasp the situation.

"Thank you for helping us." Harry finally said when he found his voice.

"There is nothing you should thank me for." Olivia smiled and shook her head, "I am only here for a selfish reason. There is one person you should thank however, and that is Severus."

Harry sent Snape an uneasy glance before murmuring, "but he is a Death Eater."

"People make mistakes, especially when they were young." the witch answered kindly.

"But he killed Dumbledore!" Ron Weasley called out from behind Harry. When he noticed Snape's deep dark eyes bearing onto him, Ron held Hermione a little tighter and moved a step aside.

"That's right! Snape murdered Dumbledore! I saw it with my own eyes!" Harry suddenly began to worry that this new found family friend of his had fallen victim to the Slytherin's treachery. Quickly he pointed the wand in his hand at Severus.

"No Harry Potter!" A loud pop suddenly startled Harry and he found himself staring at Dobby's big black eyes. "Harry Potter should not harm the headmaster! Headmaster has been protecting Harry Potter!" The house elf said sincerely.

"Don't believe only what you see Harry." Olivia went on, still in her warm and kind voice, "Remember, there is more than what meets the eye. Looking beyond the surface to get to the truth is part of growing up."

"Don't waste your breath Hamilton." Severus stopped her impatiently, "He is just as arrogant as his father."

"Don't forget he is also his mother's son." Olivia retorted pointedly, leaving Severus suddenly speechless.

A moment past Severus shook his head at Olivia and began dangerously, his eyes murderous, "Don't... Olivia. Don't you dare!"

Lowering his wand Harry watched the exchange in amusement, not understanding why the witch's words could have had such a strange effect on Snape.

"He deserves to know Severus." Olivia answered plainly. But when she turned her attention back to Harry she said, "Someday, you will need to ask the man before you to tell you the truth. You will, of course, wait until when he is ready. And when he is ready, he will let you know."

Her last sentence was clearly said to Severus. When she turned to look back up at him she gave him a mischievous smile.

"Someday you will need to help me understand why I let you stick around, Hamilton." Severus grumbled as he surveyed their environment. "You will need to get out of here. All of you." He gestured the three young Gryffindors, the goblin, and Olivia.

"No Severus," Olivia's eyes twinkled as she looked up at Severus, "don't you dare trying to get rid of me. I am not going anywhere. How are you going to explain all these to the Dark Lord?"

"I will find a way." Severus answered quickly, "Perhaps I should just tell him the truth, and tell him that you killed Bellatrix and went to join the Order."

"Don't be ridiculous." Olivia disagreed, "Don't forget you were the one guaranteed my loyalty to him. Telling him the truth would pretty much blow your cover immediately."

"You can tell him we killed Bellatrix." Harry piped in.

"You? With your pathetic friends there?" Severus sneered, "Don't overestimate your abilities Potter. Bellatrix Lestrange was not some mediocre witch you can handle."

"Severus is probably right." Olivia frowned, "it may be hard to believe that Bellatrix would die in the hands of a couple of young wizards, especially with Severus and me around, supposedly came here to her aid." She looked down and thought for a brief moment. When she looked back up at the group, her eyes were twinkling with excitement, "But that sure gave me a great idea Harry. You might not be able to kill her, but with the house elf's help, it would certainly sound reasonable if you could wiggle your way out. Yes! This is going to work!"

Olivia looked at Dobby and glanced over at Harry and his companions, "Dobby, are you sure you can take them all with you?" The house elf nodded quickly. "Good. We will need to set up a scene. Here Harry," She handed Bellatrix's wand to the young wizard, "Take this with you. We will say that Dobby came to Harry's aid, and was able to break away from here, and Bellatrix went after you. That would explain why she is not here. And of course, she would have been outnumbered if she were to follow you to the Order. And her whereabouts could only be left for speculations. How does that sound?"

"That sounds fantastic." Severus drawled sarcastically, "I would so inform the Malfoys and the Dark Lord that you and I were sitting here enjoying the finest tea in England while all the prisoners took their leave."

"Oh no," Olivia smiled at the wizard slyly, "of course you wouldn't say that. We would have chased after them if we were able. Unfortunately however, we simply couldn't."

"We couldn't?" Severus frowned. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized what the witch's plan was.

Not giving him another moment to think, Olivia threw a quick jinx at the wizard. The unexpected spell hit him square in the chest and Severus fell backwards to the floor.

"There. So he won't be rejecting my plans for a little while. Alright, now it's my turn." Olivia smiled at the dumbstruck Harry Potter. "You need to stun me now."

Harry shook his head feverously, "No Olivia. Come with us! That's enough cover for Snape. We are going to Ron's brother's place. Our friends Luna and Dean are already there. The Order will be there. Come with us!"

"No Harry, I can't go with you. Severus still needs my help. I can't leave him here fighting alone."

Suddenly they heard quiet movements coming from the meeting room where the Malfoys were kept by Severus' spells. The spells were quickly wearing off as the wizard who cast them was knocked out cold on the floor.

"Hurry! We don't have much time!" Olivia urged Harry. When she realized the young wizard's hesitation she turned to the house elf. "Dobby, you did tell me you would help Harry Potter. I need you to do just that. Help him by stunning me. Now!"

"No!" Harry wanted to protest. His voice however did not come as fast as a spell that flew out of Dobby's index finger. The spell sent the witch flying backwards against the wall. She did not move again when she slid down to the floor.

"Harry Potter, come quickly!" Dobby took hold of the young wizard's hand. Just before the door leading to the meeting room cracked open, the house elf took everyone with him, leaving behind only the two unconscious bodies in the great hall.

"Severus!" Lucius Malfoy was the first one came out of the meeting room. Hastily he ran to his friend's side. Picking up Severus' wand, Malfoy began murmuring charms to help Severus regain his consciousness. Following her husband, Narcissa slowly entered the room. She walked passed Severus, and stopped in front of the witch lying on the floor. The blasted witch, Narcissa thought bitterly, the blasted witch who knew too much. With hatred sparkling dangerously in her eyes, Narcissa pointed her wand at the witch on the floor.

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	13. Severus' Decision

_**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. **_

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**Chapter Thirteen - Severus' Decision**

The pain was unbearable... She couldn't breath! Every fiber inside of her was aching... She felt as if her body was being torn apart... Wake up! Olivia said to herself. Wake up from this terrible dream!

She gasped as another wave of excruciating pain pulled her out of the darkness. Olivia didn't realize that she had been crying, until she noticed the burning tears blurring her vision. She squinted at the object in front of her, and quickly realized it was the tip of a wand. She shook her head and tried to focus on the person holding the apparent weapon at her: it was a witch, a dark-hair witch... She looked like Bellatrix. But that could not be possible! The pain must be interfering with her senses... Bellatrix was dead! She killed her with her own wand not that long ago. This had to be a nightmare.

Yet another wave of pain made it clear to Olivia that this was far worse than a nightmare. The pain shot through her body, burning, shattering, and cutting through her veins. Her body was trembling and convulsing on the floor uncontrollably. She let out a whimpering cry, but couldn't say more. Every breath seemed like such a struggle. And then she heard a witch's cold and urgent voice, "Where is it? Where are you keeping it?"

Realization came to her. This was Narcissa Malfoy.

"I... I don't know..." She could barely whisper.

"Liar!" Narcissa cried.

Then it was another wave of pain, harder, sharper, far worse than the earlier ones. Olivia screamed. She couldn't recognize her own voice as she heard the ear-piercing cry. She felt her consciousness slipping, falling, as the pain became suffocating.

Suddenly the dark curse was lifted, as someone rushed to Narcissa's side. "What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?"

It was Lucius Malfoy. Olivia recognized his voice. But he sounded so far away, as if he was at the other end of a very long tunnel. And then she felt a strong arm wrapped around her. Slowly opening her eyes she looked up, and found herself looking at those familiar deep dark orbs.

"Olivia!" Severus called out to her, his voice strained. She sensed his pain in her heart instantly. It was the kind of pain that was almost more unbearable than the curse had done to her body.

Olivia summoned the last bit of energy in her and reached up. She wrapped her arms around Severus' neck, and buried her face in his chest. He was so warm, and he smelt like mint and sandalwood. Being in his arms made her feel safe. She took a deep breath to take in the familiar scent, and closed her eyes.

He held her under her shoulders with one arm, and slid his other arm under her legs. She felt a little light-headed as he lifted her up from the floor. With her eyes closed, she could hear Narcissa sobbing in the room, with Lucius and Severus making quiet exchanges.

"I will inform the Dark Lord about Bellatrix." Malfoy's voice was laced with concerns. "Severus.. Thank you for coming. And sorry about this... I'm sure Narcissa was just confused... I will pay you a visit some other time."

She felt his arms around her a little tighter. And then she heard the wind in her ears: they must be flying. Feeling the pain slowly leaving her, Olivia smiled. It was not that bad to go through the cuciatus curse, as long as she could end up in his arms.

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Gently Severus laid the witch down into his bed. Her eyes were still closed, but there was a small smile hanging in the corner of her lips. He shook his head and let out a sigh. "I told you not to do anything stupid." He said quietly, not sure if she was conscious to register his comment.

"I was actually expecting some complements on the dueling and my quick thinking." Her eyes slowly opened and a mischievous smile was dancing in her cobalt blue eyes.

"You call that quick thinking?" He arched an eyebrow and looked at her impassively, "Knocking yourself out in front of someone you've been blackmailing? I must say it's a miracle that she didn't cast the killing curse on you."

"Oh I know she wouldn't do that." She answered casually, while slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. "She wouldn't dare."

"What made you so sure?" Severus looked at the witch curiously, "Now that you brought it up... you never told me just exactly what you said to make Narcissa introduce you to the Dark Lord as her cousin."

"Everyone makes mistakes Severus." Olivia started slowly, "In Narcissa's case, she _thought_ she made an unforgivable mistake when she was young and naive." Olivia put an emphasis on the "thought" before continuing. "Not many people in the wizarding world know about this, and it took me quick a bit of efforts to dig it up. It turns out, that she fell head over heels for a young man many many years ago, long before her marrying Lucius. Just how exactly this young man presented himself to her as a pureblood wizard I would never know, because apparently he was a muggle. That's right, not even a wizard." Olivia saw the surprise in Severus' face and nodded.

"Now that I think of it," she frowned slightly, "maybe she did know from the beginning that he was a muggle. That would explain why she called it off so soon. She was properly scared when she found herself too weak to pull away from him. Anyway, their relationship was brief, but that poor witch sure had her heart poured out for him. Even though she broke up with him, she never stopped keeping an eye on the man in the following years. Unfortunately he died a few years later in a car crash. And I can only imagine how she felt."

Olivia suddenly fell silent. Brows furrowed, she looking into the space in front of her and lost in her own thoughts.

"And?"

She was startled slightly when she heard Severus' voice. "Oh... She must be terribly sad when she got the news. She attended his funeral to say her last good-bye. If you ask me, I really don't think she did anything wrong, other than probably not following her heart the first time around. But Narcissa felt differently. She thought of this affiliation with a muggle a terrible scandal that she must hide from her family."

"Anyone could have blackmailed her with that. With no evidence or eye witnesses, it can easily be explained as a rumor. What would she care about what you have to say?" Severus frowned.

"Well, I told her I have the negatives of the pictures taken of her at the muggle funeral." She smiled wickedly.

Severus narrowed his eyes, "Why do I have the feeling that you are hiding something."

"Or _not_ hiding something, you should say." Her smile widened. "She will not kill me unless I give up those negatives. I told her if anything happened to me, my assistant, which is also part of my big fat lie, would send the negatives directly to Lucius, with a copy to the Dark Lord himself. What she doesn't know is that there were never any pictures, or negatives. It was all but a harmless little white lie."

Severus shook his head in disbelief. "Harmless? How could you?" He grunted, "How could you come up with such a terribly dangerous plan? Do you realize how much she hates you for this? No wonder she was so enthusiastic with her cuciatus curse."

"Well, I deserved it." She shrugged slightly. "I deserved the pain and I don't blame her for hating me."

"Unbelievable. You and all of your crazy logic." Severus began to pace in front of her. "This has to stop. You should have left with the house elf. I should have..."

"Severus!" The way she suddenly called his name and interrupted him alarmed him. When he looked over, he saw her looking at him, brows furrowed, a painful expression spread across her face.

"What is it?" He frowned and walked over to the bed next to her. "What's wrong? The cuciatus curse should not have any lasting effect. What else did she do to you?"

Shaking her head she didn't answer. Instead she reached over and pulled him closer to her. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her. She immediately clung on to him around the waist tightly.

"This is better." He heard her murmuring in his arms. Without a word of warning, she suddenly pulled him towards the bed. Losing his balance, he toppled over her and fell into the bed next to her.

"Much better." He heard her letting out a small laugh with her face buried deep in his chest.

"You are... insufferable..." Severus wasn't sure why he couldn't stay angry with the witch.

"Come on Severus." Olivia whispered, "Don't try to push me away. I don't want to fight with you any more."

Severus' bedroom fell into a comfortable silence as the witch and the wizard lay quietly in each others' arms. Time seemed to have frozen as each of them lost into their own thoughts. When Severus finally looked down, he noticed Olivia had drifted into sleep. He frowned at her peaceful face, taking in the every little detail: her eyelashes, her nose, her cheeks, her chin, her lips... He held her a little tighter, feeling relieved to know that she was far too deep in her dreams to sense what he was feeling at the moment.

He could not bring himself to think about the future of their relationship. A few months ago she had let it slip that she was afraid of making commitments. He thought of it as her polite way of rejecting him. After all, it all made sense. She came here for Sirius Black, not Severus Snape.

What she was telling him earlier that afternoon in his office however, made him wonder if her feelings for him had changed. Could she really care for him as much as he cared for her?

But realistically, how would that matter? Perhaps he was simply wishing for something that was too good to be true. Severus thought bitterly to himself. Keeping her with him would only lead her to her doom. He simply could not see an alternative to his own future in this war. Allowing her to stay with him was his way of being selfish, and he could not let that go on any more...

It was painful to come to his decision. But Severus knew he must do what was right when she woke up. He took in slow and deep breaths, hoping to ease the lump in his chest. Slowly Severus closed his eyes, breathing in the light fragrance of her hair, trying desperately to remember what it was like to have her in his arms, for the very last time.

* * *

When Olivia opened her eyes she found herself lying in bed alone. Looking up, she found Severus sitting in the winged armchair by the fireplace. He was sitting sideways from her, with his eyes facing the fire. His shoulders were slouching forward, somehow making him look older than his usual self.

"What are you doing? Why are you up?" she asked quietly, feeling slightly uneasy by the emotions she was sensing. "Aren't you tired?"

It took him a few moments to answer her, but his eyes never left the dancing flames in the fireplace. "Yes Olivia, I am very tired." he began quietly, "I am tired of not knowing where you've been, tired of trying look out for you, and tired of worrying about you. I am tired Olivia. This is all I can take. I know you did it all for him. And congratulations, you did it. You revenged for Sirius Black. Don't try to make up for those days you didn't spend with him by staying here with me. I'm not him. I don't need your help fighting a war that has nothing to do with you." Letting out a shaky sigh, he continued, "I need you to leave."

She closed her eyes to forced her tears back. "You think revenging for him is the only reason why I'm here?"

He raised a hand and stopped her, but didn't turn to meet here eyes. "I will not hear another word of your argument. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I am informing you, your service at Hogwarts has been terminated. Go home Olivia. Go back to America."

What a terrible liar, she thought to herself. She knew him too well. She knew him too well to know he was using his jealousy as an excuse, perhaps for himself more than for her; she also knew him too well to realize his determination. He was, indeed, breaking up with her. For the first time in her life, Olivia Hamilton was not the one who backed out of a relationship first.

With a trembling voice she said quietly, "but you... you have feelings for me."

"That's irrelevant." He murmured.

Slowly she got up from the bed and walked next to his side, running her fingers through his silky black hair she asked quietly, "Is that really what you want? Me leaving you?"

Staring at the orange flames in front of him he kept his gaze away from hers. Not trusting his own voice, he only nodded.

"I guess any more words would be unnecessary." She said quietly and walked towards the door, "But let's at least make one thing clear. I never wanted your protection, never wanted you to look out for me, never wanted you to worry about me, never have in the past, and never will in the future. You are not going to take on the responsibility of dismissing the Dark Lord's placement. My resignation letter will be on your desk in the morning."

He was surprised by her calm reaction. The air in the room suddenly feel so terribly cold. "Olivia," he called after her before she reached the bedroom door, but quickly looked away when she turned to face him. "Promise me you will go back to America."

"A promise? That's what you ask of me?" She looked at him sadly and shook her head, "I thought you'd know me by now."

Before he heard her closing the bedroom door quietly after her, he heard her murmuring, "I wish you would give us a chance, Severus."

He didn't, or rather, couldn't, move, as he listened to her footsteps leaving his quarters. Suddenly he found the flames in the fireplace becoming a bit blurry, as some annoying moisture got into his eyes. Closing his eyes he let out a sigh, "I wish I could, Olivia. I wish I could."

* * *

_**We are almost getting to the climax and the end of the story. I would love to know what you think of it so far.**_

_**Review please?**_


	14. The Final Hours

_**Missyick... thank you... always so kind...  
**_

_**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. **_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen - The Final Hours**

He kept telling himself it was the right thing to do; yet he struggled through everyday fighting the pain deep in his heart.

It had been over three weeks since Olivia walked out of Severus' bedroom, and walked out of his life. Although he had originally expected the pain to slowly ease as time went by, Severus soon began to question the reasonableness of his expectation.

This was a quiet evening in May. It should have been a pleasant summer night, but the dementors in the sky had turned the school grounds into a cold and hopeless place. Sitting at his desk, Severus fixed his gaze upon the distant sky outside the window. He felt more alone than ever before.

As he surrendered himself to the silence around him, his mind drifted away to the three long weeks that he somehow managed to live through. He remembered how he tried to convince himself that he should feel relieved that she finally listened to him when he found her resignation letter on his desk. He thought he should be even more relieved when words reached him in the following days, that the lone assassin seemed to have vanished - perhaps he was more convincing than he thought.

Perhaps this time, he thought bitterly, that he had finally succeeded. He had finally persuaded her to stay away from the danger of the war; and had finally pushed away the one last soul that cared for him, and the one last glimpse of hope for another day worth living.

His heart sank in disappointment when he saw the vacant spot on the staff's table in the Great Hall, and ached when he walked by the empty quarters that used to be hers. She left a void in his heart that he couldn't find a way to fill. For a man who was so used to keeping his emotions under complete control, Severus felt as if he was losing this battle. He never imagined it could be so difficult not having her in his life, and not having her in his arms.

"Severus, is it my imagination or has Miss Hamilton not been visiting you in your office lately?"

Severus was startled when he heard a gentle voice coming from the wall in his office. He frowned and looked back at Dumbledore's portrait. Why did the old wizard have to bring her up, as if he had not already been missing her enough.

"You are correct, Dumbledore." Severus' voice was cool and calm, not giving away any emotions, "She left."

"She left?" Dumbledore's portrait sounded nothing but surprise.

"Why do you sound so surprised? This is not her place to stay." Severus' voice was still calm and plain, "This is not her war."

"I thought I made her see reasons!" Dumbledore sighed and shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Severus suddenly became very alarmed. He quickly looked up at Dumbledore's portrait and asked, with an icy edge in his voice. "What did you say to her?"

"I might have explained in a way that she could appreciate," the old wizard stoke his beard slowly and smiled, "that she was the only one who could really help you in this war. That's all."

"It was you! You pushed her to risk her life. Do you know what she was doing? She went out there alone at night dueling the death eaters! She could have been killed!" Severus sent Dumbledore a threatening glare, "How could you? Why did you do that?"

"I was simply stating the truth, Severus." Dumbledore looked at the dark-hair wizard kindly, "You should have let her help you."

"No!" Severus stood up abruptly, with rage rushed through his veins, "I never needed her help! You should have stayed out of this! You have me wrapped around in your fingers doing whatever you please all these years already. Why do you want her too? Olivia doesn't belong to this war. Do not try to manipulate her for your own benefit!"

The old wizard shook his head in his portrait and let out a sigh, "I only wanted to help you Severus. You must know how much I appreciate what you've done all these years."

Severus clenched his teeth as he stared at the old wizard's portrait, feeling anger and fear filling his heart. He couldn't believe the meddling old coot pulled Olivia into the war using him as a bait. What else did Dumbledore say? How did Olivia interpret the old man's words. How far would she go to "help" him?

Before he could speak another word however, the gargoyles guarding his office suddenly announced, "Headmaster, Professor McGonagall is here to see you."

Severus was utterly surprised. For the entire year, McGonagall had been avoiding him like a plague. She rarely set foot in his office, except for the handful of times when he requested her presence for certain official duties for the school. Before he could gather his senses and order the gargoyles to let the witch in, he was further surprised as the head of Gryffindor House marched through the door, completely ignoring the gargoyles' protests.

"Severus Snape!" McGonnagall said sternly, but Severus took note of the absence of the hatred that he had gotten so used to seeing in her eyes. "I demand a complete explanation, right this minute!"

Severus frowned. What was she talking about? "What do you want me to explain, Minerva?" he asked coldly.

"This!" the older witch pointed at the empty spot next to her. Her voice shivered in rage.

Severus looked at the empty spot in the room and raised an eyebrow. The witch surely had snapped. Before he could find the right words to address the old witch's sanity however, he watched in amusement as a young wizard came into view. It was Harry Potter.

"Potter! What are you doing here!" Severus growled. Before the young wizard could answer, Severus waved his wand and cast various charms to secured all the windows and doors in his office.

"That's the question that I asked him!" McGonagall commented as she watched the headmaster critically. "I was hoping you can explain why Mr. Potter would like to come see you!"

"Professor Snape," Harry Potter began, "I need to find something in Hogwarts. Do you know where it may be hidden?"

Severus examined the young wizard intensely, "I sure hope that you are in your right mind and know what you are talking about, because I certainly do not." After a brief pause, Severus frowned and asked the young wizard urgently, "Did anyone see you when you entered the castle? Amycus Carrow was doing the rounds tonight. Don't tell me he saw you!"

"No need to worry about Carrow. Mr. Potter hexed him and had him locked away in the Ravenclaw common room." McGonagall answered instead. "But I don't understand... Mr. Potter said you saved his life?"

Severus glared at the old witch as he considered his answers, "I do not have time to explain. I can only hope Mr. Potter understands the consequences of him returning to Hogwarts. If anyone discovers this, Potter, do you realize the danger you just brought to the entire school!"

"I am sorry sir," the boy answered sincerely as he folded away his invisibility cloak, "but this is the last place I have not looked. This has to be where the last horcrux is hidden. Dumbledore sure had discussed the horcruxes with you?"

The horcruxes... Severus' gaze locked upon the boy as he recalled Olivia telling him about what she heard as she followed the trio in the woods. She had warned him that Dumbledore was hiding some important facts from him. _He's using you like a pawn!_ She had said. Severus had discounted her theory and stubbornly declared his loyalty to the old wizard. After all, the old man had given him a chance to redeem himself from the terrible mistake that he made years ago. Why shouldn't he keep his faith in Dumbledore? Yet as the evening slowly unfolded itself before Severus, he began to question his judgement.

Sending Dumbledore's portrait a cold glance, Severus answered dryly, "No. Dumbledore did not say a word to me about the horcruxes. What makes you think it should be here?"

Just as Harry was about to answer, the charm over the fireplace set off an alarming cry, "incoming floo, Headmaster."

With a wave of his hand Severus summon a room divider and placed it right in front of the witch and the young wizard. Walking towards the fireplace, he greeted an emerging head of a wizard calmly, "Lucius."

"Severus, they spotted Harry Potter in Hogsmeade! The Dark Lord is summoning everyone. He's going to have Hogwarts surrounded! He said he would do everything to find Potter tonight, even if he had to burn down the entire school! But listen Severus, Draco is still inside! I tried to floo him at the Slytherin common room but he wasn't there. Can you find him and warn him, please! He needs to get out of there before all of this begins, soon!"

"Of course Lucius. I will send words." Severus answered coolly, and watched the silver-haired wizard disappeared in the green frames.

"I'm really sorry sir." Harry Potter came out from around the room divider, followed by a very concerned McGonagall. "I really didn't mean to bring them to the school. I thought we could..."

"You thought... Of course..." Severus cut the boy off and grunted.

"I didn't think that..." Harry's face was turning scarlet.

"Obviously you did not think." Severus cut him off again and began pacing in his office.

"What does this mean Severus?" Professor McGonagall decided to break the tension between the two wizards, "What are they going to do with the school?"

"This is going to be challenging Minerva. You must do everything you can to protect Hogwarts. Seal off the grounds. Evacuate the students, all of them. If you hurry you may have enough time." Severus answered calmly, as if he had all of this planned out long ago. "And it's time," he paused for a brief second, "to send words to the Order."

McGonagall looked at the headmaster in disbelief. "You said 'you', not 'we'" she observed, "what about yourself? What are you going to do? And you have been working with the Order? Why didn't you tell me?"

"No I haven't been working with them. But I have no time to address your questions at this moment." Severus didn't need to further explain the situation as he felt a searing pain in his forearm. Instinct reflects made him look down and hold on his arm. When he looked back up, the urgency in his eyes explained everything to Harry and McGonagall.

"The Dark Lord is calling. I must go and learn his plans. McGonagall, this place is yours now. Potter, do whatever you need to do, but do not linger. We don't have much time left." Pointing his wand in the air, a silver doe flew towards the corridor.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed as he saw Snape's patronus. It was clearly the same silver doe that let him to Gryffindor's sword. Although if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he would have never guessed that the patronus belonged to Snape.

"I did promise to send words to Draco. So there it goes." Severus murmured as he walked towards the window.

"Wait Professor!" Harry ran after the man and took hold of Snape's billowing cloak. "Wait! Where is Olivia? Do you think if she knows where the horcrux is? Can she help me?"

Severus narrowed his eyes upon the boy. He couldn't believe even the Potter boy wanted to pull Olivia into this war. He took a deep breath and growled, "Let go of me, you ignorant boy! Olivia is not your fairy godmother. This is not her war and I sent her away. You are on your own with this one Potter. I don't have any more information to offer."

Roughly Severus pulled his cloak away from Harry, giving the boy an intimidating stern look. But just as he was about to turn to leave, something in the boy seemed to have caught his attention. Frowning deeply, Severus walked back into the room and went around a couple of bookshelves. Quietly he opened a hidden latch and took out a small phial.

Harry could see the content inside the phial and immediately recognized the silvery substance.

Hesitantly Severus handed the phial to Harry. Before the boy's hand could touch the phial however, Severus pulled it back. "You cannot see into the pensive unless I do not return, or do not send words back within two hours. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded and reached for the phial. Surprisingly Severus pulled it away again and said, "I have a spell put on it. You would be cursed to death if you open it too soon. Give me your word Potter, that you will not look into it before the end of the two hours."

"If you have a spell put on it, why do you need me to promise?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Give me your word Potter! I need your word!" Severus was practically bellowing.

"Alright! Alright! Yes, you have my word! I promise not to look into it unless if I don't hear back from you." Harry grunted as he took the phial from the headmaster's hand. And with a swirl of black smoke, Snape disappeared into the darkening sky.

* * *

Severus was sure he would be able to return to the castle within the two hour limit that he had given himself, until Lucius delivered the message to him that he was needed by the Dark Lord in Shrieking Shack.

As he stood before the snake that was surrounded by a transparent globe, Severus realized this was the moment that Dumbledore was referring to. Instantly, he wished the Potter boy would ignore his warning and looked into the pensieve as soon as possible. After all, there really wasn't a spell put on the phial; and the information contained in the phial was far more important than the dignity of Severus Snape.

"You are a smart man, Severus. You should understand..." The Dark Lord walked towards Severus as he began darkly.

Having his mind completely focused on the snake and the message he wanted to send to Harry Potter, Severus did not have the time to react as Voldemort drew his wand in the air and slashed down with a quick stroke.

An invisible knife stuck Severus hard and knocked him down to the floor. He could feel hot liquid running down his neck and gushing down his throat. The sharp pain of the cut was far less terrifying as he realized he was drowning, in his own blood.

"Kill, Nagini." Voldemort said coldly as he left in a swirl of black smoke.

Severus struggled to reach for his wand, but was completely paralyzed by the wound in his neck. A dark shadow quickly emerged upon him. All he could see was the snake's fangs in front of him. Bracing himself he tried to let go of his fear. _This is how everything ends._ He thought to himself.

Just when he was about to close his eyes and let the poisonous fangs sink into him, he heard a shrill whistle from above. Using his last bit of energy he raised his head and looked up, just in time to see the shadow of a large bird broke through the window, and dashed right onto the giant snake.

"No... Olivia... No." Severus croaked, trying to say the words of warning; but there was nothing more he could do than watching helplessly as the bird took on the snake.

There might have been a bright light, Severus wasn't sure. As he swallowed another gulp of air, he thought he heard a loud thud hitting the floor. Then he heard a soft voice murmuring a charm over him. Opening up his heavy eyelids, he thought he saw those beautiful blue eyes he had been missing for so long. A moment later, he felt he could breath again; but his struggle for air was quickly replaced by a strange kind of pain throughout his body. Was it his imagination that Olivia was healing his wound? Or did the last drop of blood finally left his veins? Feeling himself slowly reaching his end, Severus whispered, "Leave me, Olivia. Go..."

He wasn't sure if it was her voice that he heard as darkness finally overtook him.

* * *

_**An unexpected summer cold has set me back with my progress with the story. My goal is to post the finale of the story before the end of the month. Hopefully that will still happen. I appreciate your feedback. Review please?**_


	15. The Season of Hope

_**Penmora Zenith and Missyick, thank you for your review of the last chapter. And everyone else, thank you for following the story. So here is how everything comes to an end. Make sure you let me know what you think of the story! Thanks! ;-)  
**_

_**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. **_

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**Chapter Fifteen - The Season of Hope**

Along the tender green river bank, bashful yellow primroses and white snowdrops opened their delicate petals to welcome another new year. Dancing through the rays of sun light among the fresh tree branches, a mild spring breeze descended from the bright morning sky, and kissed away the crystal dewdrops dazzling among the reborn grass. The breeze suddenly picked up with a sound of a whoosh, as a pair of large grey wings brushed against the blades of the tender greens.

A great horned owl, the owner of the pair of large grey wings, took his time enjoying the river, the woods, and the country road leading through the fields of early spring flowers. This had to be one of his favorite delivery route; not so much because of the wizard living in solitude waiting at the end of his journey, but the serene scenery that he got to enjoy along the way.

Finally a small sage green cottage came into view. Standing in the garden was a tall and lean wizard, with his black cloak billowing in the sweet mild breeze. He was looking upon the sky, as if looking forward to someone's arrival. The owl, however, knew better. He knew the wizard was not waiting for him.

When the owl finally landed on the windowsill he found the wizard inside the cottage and waiting for him by the kitchen window. The wizard let out a small sigh of disappointment as he studied the owl and the packages came with the delivery. He was obviously not impressed by the bird, nor the two letters dangling on the owl's leg. He untied the mail with his nimble long fingers, and with a single glance, he threw one of them onto the kitchen table with a grunt. He then proceeded to open the other, and let out another quiet growl. The owl perched upon the windowsill and observed the wizard with great interest.

"What are you looking at?" The wizard sneered at the bird. "I have no message for you to deliver. So go. Leave me alone."

Severus Snape watched the great horned owl disappear into the bright blue sky with a soft hoot, before turning away from the window and went into his private lab.

The letter arrived with the owl was another order for the wolfsbane potion from St Mungo's. Severus had no complaints about the frequent requests from the hospital. After all, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. However, he often wondered if it was the most efficient way for the healers to operate by ordering the potion one dose at a time.

As the potion slowly brewed in the cauldron, Severus' mind wandered as he watched the bluish liquid stirred by a bewitched ladle.

It was almost a year since the fall of Voldemort. Ironically, after being an observant spy throughout the entire war, Severus could not recall much about the final battle. When he woke up from a two-week-long coma, as he was told by the healers at St Mungo's, many of the problems that were occupying his mind for the longest time had already been magically solved. To Severus' great relief, Harry Potter did not announce to the entire world the intimate details of certain memory that Severus had left for the boy, except for just enough information to clear his name. The boy was not so much of a dunderhead after all, Severus had thought to himself.

As far as Severus could remember, Lupin was the first one visited him at the hospital; although the healers did tell him that Harry Potter and Professor McGonagall had also paid him several visits before he recovered from his coma. Severus was utterly surprised when the werewolf showed up with a sincere apology. Apparently, Lupin had learned from Potter quite a bit more about Snape's memory than the Daily Prophet, and realized the terrible damage he and his Marauders friends had done to a fellow students many years ago.

_... Flash Back_

_"We all made mistakes." Lying in his hospital bed, Severus said quietly when the werewolf finally finished expressing his regret. Although still bitter about the history he shared with the Marauders, Severus' mind was not so much on the childhood grudge at that moment. His heart trembled as he realized he was borrowing someone else's words. "Where is Olivia?" He looked up at Lupin, waiting for an answer desperately._

_"Olivia Hamilton?" Lupin looked at him with great surprise, "Didn't you tell Harry that you sent her home?"_

_Severus heart sank upon hearing Lupin's words. "No... I saw her... I saw her in Shrieking Shack! She saved me. Did anyone see her there?"  
_

_"They found you in the Great Hall, lying with the wounded. It was rather chaotic Severus. No one knew who brought you in. And I haven't heard from Olivia since the falcon delivered a message several months ago." Lupin frowned as he explained to the dark-hair wizard solemnly.  
_

_Letting out a shaking sigh Severus closed his eyes. A few seconds later he asked, his voice trembling, "Is there a list... of the dead?"  
_

_"Yes there is. But she is not among the dead." Lupin read his mind and answered affirmatively.  
_

_"She could have been listed under her cover name, Macmillan..."  
_

_"No, that's not what I meant." Lupin explained, "I didn't visit all of the wounded, but I did visit all of the dead. I needed to know who I would never get to see again." His voice wavered, but he continued on, "and I did not see her."  
_

_... End Flash Back  
_

That was all the comfort that Lupin's words could offer. Severus still wondered if he could put his faith in the werewolf's memory. He forced himself to rely on Lupin's keen observation, but a part of him still worried, what if Lupin was wrong...

He was not allowed much time to linger on his concerns. As soon as he moved out of St Mungo's, Severus was constantly pestered by unwanted attention. At first it was just McGonagall and Potter, who took turn visiting him at Spinner's End.

McGonagall wanted him to return to Hogwarts and resume his post as the headmaster. She obviously did not understand Severus' feelings towards his years working as a triple spy under the cover of a faculty member at Hogwarts. It took Severus many stern statements to make the witch finally accept that Hogwarts had already become his past. He would never return to the school again, not as a professor any way.

Harry had a complete different reason to visit Severus. After many long talks, Severus had admitted that he had no reason to hate the boy. Since that initial step, their friendship seemed to developed rather quickly. Severus still could not get over how he could miss the fact that Harry Potter was truly a remarkable young man. It was an amazing experience for Severus to see beyond the shadow of James Potter and to get to know Lily's son.

As Severus should have predicted, Harry would never let his Mother's friend continue to live with the old memories at Spinner's End. Upon having his suggestion of moving Severus to a new home refused, Harry brought in backup support through an army of Gryffindor ladies: Hermione Granger, Ginny and Molly Weasley, and McGonagall. Eventually, Severus was so thoroughly annoyed by the women's pester, he agreed to find himself a new home; not because he needed one, but because that would be the only way for him to get his solitude back again.

That was how he came here, a quiet country cottage away from wizards and muggles. He didn't need to see anyone if he could help it, since none of them was the one person that he wanted to see.

A faint blue smoke began to emit from the potion, bringing Severus' wandering mind back to the cauldron at hand. He would have deducted at least fifty points if a student was daydreaming in his potions class like he did. He snorted at the thought as he turned down the temperature. Now the potion would only need time to simmer; and time, was all he had.

When the evening stars sparkled in the darkening night, Severus found himself sitting in his living-room with a glass of firewhiskey in his hand. His attention turned to the fireplace when the flames suddenly turned green.

"Severus, are you home?" Lupin's head appeared through the green flames.

"Where else would I be?" Severus snarled at the werewolf's unnecessary question. "What are you doing here? Did your talented snout bring you here for the wolfsbane potion in my lab? I can bottle some for you; but I have to say, I didn't expect you to finish my last batch so soon."

"Thanks, but no. That's not why I called." Lupin nodded politely and smiled, "did you read the letter?"

"What letter?" Severus arched an eyebrow. "The one asking for more potions from St. Mungo's? Why do you think I was brewing it in my lab?"

"Not that one. The one from the Ministry."

"Of course..." With a wave of his hand, Severus had in his hand the letter that he left in the kitchen earlier that day, "Do explain why I should waste my time dealing with them. Whose trial do they want me to attend now? Someone you know?"

"No Severus. But I think you should read it." Lupin's continued to smile patiently.

Sending the werewolf a cold glare, Severus proceeded to open the letter. After reading the first two lines he looked up, "What is this rubbish? I can care less if the Ministry wants to attract outside investments. I have as much interest in their politics as getting into the business of breeding half kneazles or taming a herd of Hippogriffs. Just what made them think that I would be interested in participating in any business joint venture?"

"But this one you may. Keep reading." Lupin encouraged.

Severus frowned at the wizard in the green flames and returned his attention to the parchment in his hand. His frown deepened as he read on. When he finally reached the end of the letter, he looked up at Lupin uncertainly.

"Don't you think this foreign granter's specific requirements sound interesting?" The smile in Lupin's face slowly turned into a wide grin.

"Who could have come up with such peculiar criteria? And how did you know about this?" Severus asked curiously. For the first time in months he felt a spark of hope in his heart.

"I heard about this strange grant offer from Tonks. It was sent to the Ministry through a foreign muggle embassy. The granter requested complete confidentiality so no one knows who this is. Because of those specific requirements, however, the Ministry had a very difficult time finding a match that could gain the mysterious granter's approval." Lupin began to explain, but could not hide his excitement. "As soon as I read through those requirements, I had a feeling that both you and I know the person behind this offer, so I suggested that they contract you."

Severus considered the former marauder's words and nodded, "It is not impossible I suppose. They are asking for an individual recently departed from an academic environment, with distinct background in potion making, from the house of Slytherin... They didn't consider Slughorn?"

"They tried. But the proposal was rejected. The words coming from the Department was that Slughorn never possessed the 'well-rounded knowledge in various magical studies', such as remarkable abilities in occlumency and legilimency as they mentioned in the requirements." Lupin answered with a wink, "but I suspect there are other reasons."

Severus drew a deep breath, "I have to admit, it does sound like a description of myself if they also specifically ask for a former Death eater." After a brief pause he continued, "I just don't understand... Why didn't she stay after the war? And if she really intends to find me, why doesn't she come to me directly?"

"Knowing Olivia," Lupin answered thoughtfully, "I think she left because she wanted to stay clear from the politics. It was probably her way of saving you a lot of headaches too. Can you imagine what you would have to do to prove her innocence? From what I can gather, Professor Macmillan was a Death Eater, wasn't she? As far as why she didn't come to you directly, I can only guess..." Lupin's voice trailed off slightly.

"What is that brilliant mind of yours telling you?" Severus stared at the werewolf impassively.

"From they way Harry described your exchanges with Olivia at Malfoy Manor, I am guessing that there was something more between you two than simply two allies in the middle of a war. Perhaps, that she wasn't sure about your feelings for her. Didn't you say you sent her away? Care to tell me what happened?"

Severus frowned at Lupin's question, his lips pressed into thin line. He was not ready to give away any information about the intimate time he shared with Olivia.

"I bet she is reaching out through this fashion because she is unsure. From what I heard from Sirius years ago, Olivia does have a history of having trouble to commit. Perhaps she had a change of heart since she met you? Perhaps she wanted some assurance that you return the feelings and want the same? After all, it would be a lot easier to be turned down through some formal letter than a rejection in the face."

Severus listened quietly to Lupin's words. It all seemed logical; and there was only one way to find out if the werewolf was correct.

"So what do you think my friend? Your prince is walking door to door with a glass slipper. Are you going to give it a try?" Lupin smirked at Severus.

"Don't you dare mocking me Lupin! Or you will never get another drop of the wolfsbane potion made from my cauldron!" Severus growled with a dangerous threat, but he could not help the corner of his lips from curling up into a smile.

* * *

Severus arrived at the Department of International Affairs at half past nine. A friendly witch greeted him politely and informed him that Mr. Buccleugh, the Department Head, was waiting for him with their guest in the conference room at the end of a long hallway. Taking a deep breath, Severus made his way towards the end of the hall. He couldn't remember when the last time it was that his heart was fluttering in his chest like this.

He had sent a letter agreeing to have a meeting to discuss the "joint venture" opportunity the day after Lupin's visit. The only condition he had specified in his letter was that the granter behind the offer must attend the meeting in person. Knowing the bureaucracy of the Ministry, he had expected them to take their time getting back to him. He was taken by surprise when the great horned owl returned with a confirmation the very next day. He wondered if it was the efficiency of the new government that deserved his gratitude or some other factors behind the mysterious offer.

Severus slowed down his footsteps as he approached the conference room. He could hear a quiet conversation taking place inside. Not knowing what had possessed him, he leaned against the wall and listened.

"Thank you so much for being so flexible. We didn't expect you to be able to come here so soon." That was obviously the voice of Mr. Buccleugh.

"You are welcome. I have been waiting for the message. There was nothing left worth my staying anyway."

Severus' heart was racing in his chest upon hearing the familiar voice.

"There was a rumor going around the Department, saying that you have liquidated all of your assets in America. Is that true?" Mr. Buccleugh asked politely, but couldn't help the curiosity in his voice.

"You can probably say that." was the quiet answer.

"Included here is a file of some information about Mr. Snape that we have pulled together. I thought you might be interested in reading it before he joins us shortly."

"That would not be necessary." Olivia answered coolly, "I know Mr. Snape personally."

"Then why didn't you contact Mr. Snape directly?" came Mr. Buccleugh's surprised voice.

"I met Mr. Snape during a rather... less ideal situation. I was not sure if he would still be interested in... participating in any kind of partnership with me. I thought it would be a good idea to have a fresh start, and let you make the introduction. He doesn't need to respond if he is no longer... available or interested." There was a clear sense of uncertainty in her wavering voice.

That was when Severus realized he alone held the answer she was waiting for. Without any more hesitation, he turned the handle of the door and entered the room. His eyes immediately found her beautiful cobalt blue ones. A small smile came to the corner of her lips.

"Mr. Snape! Good morning!." A wizard in his mid-fifties greeted Severus pleasantly, "I guess I won't need to make the introductions after all. May I present Miss Olivia Hamilton."

Slowly Olivia lifted her hand and reached out for Severus. He took it gently and brushed his lips on her ivory fingers, with his eyes never leaving hers. "Indeed Miss Hamilton. It has been too long."

Her smile widened and she answered quietly, "Mr. Snape, you haven't changed a bit."

Clearing his throat, Mr. Buccleugh began, "Very well. I was just about to present Miss Hamilton with this standard contract that the Ministry has drafted on your behalf. We can discuss in detail and include the specifics to address your concerns. The Ministry is determined to ensure the success of the partnership. The contract aims to offer protections for your interests. After all, based on the numbers we are looking at, this is meant to be a big commitment."

Taking a quick glance at the contract Severus began in his cool smooth voice, "I'm afraid the Ministry is making a rather big mistake. Knowing Miss Hamilton, I can guarantee you that the deal is off if you want her to sign any contracts."

Olivia never stopped watching Severus, as if she wanted to drink him all in through her eyes, "Words don't mean much when it comes to commitments, do they?" She added quietly, "I am taking a leap of faith here. And I'm sure no contracts can save me if I fall."

"If that's the case," Mr. Buccleugh let out a small sigh as he gathered up the paperwork on the table. "I would leave you two with your own discussions. Let me know if there is any other assistance you need from the Ministry."

As soon as the wizard left the room Severus found himself standing in front of Olivia. She looked up at him searchingly, tears shimmering in her eyes. With a swift pull he wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into a tight embrace. "What made you think you would fall?" He murmured.

He felt her hands slowly reached up to his shoulders, up to his face, and gently touched his brows. Looking down, he cupped her face with his long fingers. She closed her eyes as his finger tips touched her cheeks. Looking at her long eyelashes, he felt an invisible force pulling him down to her. Gently he met her lips with his own, and was immediately awarded by a soft sigh. She continued to encourage him by running her talented fingers down his back, and made her invitation clear as she parted her lips.

Severus deepened their kiss, searching for every corner of her mouth, savoring the taste of her. It had been too long since he last had her in his arms. There were too many questions he wanted to ask, too much he needed to know. But no words could express how he felt at the moment.

When they finally broke apart he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Come home with me Olivia."

She nodded in his arms and whispered, "that's what I was hoping you would say."

A few moments later they were walking down the country lane towards his cottage, fingers laced together. For the first time since he moved to his new home, Severus was taken aback by the beautiful fields brought to life by the colorful wild flowers.

Spring was indeed a magical season of hope; and making a commitment never felt so right for Olivia Hamilton.

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The End

* * *

_**That's it! It's always a bittersweet feeling when I say goodbye to a long story. And this one... my... it turns out to be my longest story by far. Let me know what you think, and I'll love you for telling me what you think. =) **_

_**Thanks for reading! Until next time...**_


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